Adolescence, attention allocation, and driving safety.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading source of morbidity and mortality in adolescents in the United States and the developed world. Inadequate allocation of attention to the driving task and to driving hazards are important sources of adolescent crashes. We review major explanations for these attention failures with particular focus on the roles that brain immaturity and lack of driving experience play in causing attention problems. The review suggests that the potential for overcoming inexperience and immaturity with training to improve attention to both the driving task and hazards is substantial. Nevertheless, there are large individual differences in both attentional abilities and risky driving tendencies that pose challenges to novice driver policies. Research that can provide evidence-based direction for such policies is urgently needed.
Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: dromer4@gmail.com.
Daniel
D
Romer
Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Yi-Ching
YC
Lee
Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Catherine C
CC
McDonald
Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The Division of General Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Flaura K
FK
Winston
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001288:Attention; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012449:Safety; D012919:Social Behavior; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology
Adolescent; Driving; Inattention; Motor vehicle crash; Novice driver policies