Announcement: National Teen Driver Safety Week — October 16–22, 2016
Weekly / October 14, 2016 / 65(40);1119
Altmetric:
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. In 2014, a total of 2,450 teens and young adults aged 15–19 years died in motor vehicle crashes, and approximately 288,000 were treated in emergency departments or hospitalized for injuries (1). In the last decade, motor vehicle crash deaths and injuries among teens decreased significantly (1); however, projections for 2015 data indicate a 10% increase in fatalities among persons aged 15–20 years (2).
The 2016 National Teen Driver Safety Week will be observed October 16–22, 2016. This year’s theme, “Talk to Your Teen About the ‘5 to Drive,’” encourages families to agree upon the rules to address driving risks for teens, including alcohol use, not using seat belts, distracted driving, speeding, and teen passengers (3).
According to teens, parents can have the most influence on driving habits by demonstrating skills and setting limits (4). Parent-imposed rules and limits can reduce the risk for teens being involved in a crash or other negative driving outcomes (4,5). Online resources are available to help parents in supervising their new driver and monitoring and reinforcing the “rules of the road” as their teen begins driving independently. A Parent-Teen Driving Agreement (http://www.cdc.gov/parentsarethekey/parents) puts these rules in writing to set clear expectations and limits.
Additional information on National Teen Driver Safety Week available at https://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/teensexternal icon.
Additional information on safe teen driving is available at the following websites: http://www.cdc.gov/MotorVehicleSafety/Teen_Drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html; http://www.cdc.gov/parentsarethekey/danger/index.html; http://www.teendriversource.org/external icon; and http://www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Teen+Driversexternal icon.
References
- CDC. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Early estimate of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for 2015. Report No. DOT HS 812 269. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis; 2016. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.govexternal icon
- Marketing TS. National Teen Driver Safety Week: October 16–22, 2016. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Marketing; 2016. https://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/teensexternal icon
- Moreno M. Teen driving. JAMA Pediatr 2014;168:592. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
- Simons-Morton B, Hartos JL, Leaf WA, Preusser DF. Do recommended driving limits affect teen-reported traffic violations and crashes during the first 12 months of independent driving? Traffic Inj Prev 2006;7:238–47. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
Suggested citation for this article: Announcement: National Teen Driver Safety Week — October 16–22, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:1119. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6540a7external icon.
MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
All HTML versions of MMWR articles are generated from final proofs through an automated process. This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr) and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables.
Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.