This is the current release of the guideline.

All clinical reports and policy statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time.

Motor vehicle-related injuries

Counseling
Prevention

Family Practice
Pediatrics

Physicians

• To describe why teenagers are at greater risk of motor vehicle-related injuries
• To suggest topics suitable for office-based counseling
• To describe innovative programs and propose preventive interventions for pediatricians, parents, legislators, educators, and other child advocates

Teenage drivers and their families

1. Counseling of parents and adolescents to encourage safe driving practices
2. Community advocacy by pediatricians to encourage safe driving practices
3. Legislative advocacy of pediatricians to encourage enforcement of alcohol and safety belt laws and graduated driver licensing
4. Pediatrician encouragement of the alcoholic beverage and entertainment industries in supporting responsible behavior

Incidence of motor vehicle-related accidents, fatalities, and injuries in teen drivers

Searches of Electronic Databases

Not stated

Not stated

Not stated

Not applicable

Review

Not stated

Not stated

Not applicable

A formal cost analysis was not performed and published cost analyses were not reviewed.

Not stated

Not applicable

Because motor vehicle crashes pose a major, continuing threat to the health of teenagers, the American Academy of Pediatrics makes the following recommendations.

Anticipatory Guidance by Pediatricians

Pediatricians should:

• Know their state laws regarding teenaged drivers, the teenaged driver-licensing process, and physician reporting requirements for medical conditions that could impair driving ability.
• Distribute educational materials about local graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs and teenaged driver safety to their adolescent patients (see Appendix 1 in the original guideline document).
• Alert parents and teenagers to high-risk situations for teenaged drivers (see Table below).

Table. Contributors to Teenaged Driver Crashes and Injury

• Encourage seat belt use.
• Discourage distractions when driving (eating, drinking, music, cellular phones).
• Encourage teenager-parent written contracts (see Appendix 2 in the original guideline document for sample) that place restrictions on the teenaged driver. At a minimum, parents should place restrictions on nighttime driving (preferably after 9:00 PM) and limits on the number of teenaged passengers. Initially, the rules should be fairly strict, but they can be relaxed as the teenager becomes older and gains more driving experience.
• Counsel teenagers about the dangers of driving while impaired (under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medications or feeling ill, tired, depressed, or angry). Encourage a "safe-ride" agreement in which the teenager agrees to call the parent rather than drive while impaired and the parent promises to assist in arranging a ride home in a nonjudgmental manner.
• Encourage parents to require that the vehicle driven by the teenager is safe and in good condition.
• Advise parents that in many states, they have the authority to request that the driver's license of their minor child be revoked.
• Encourage parents to be positive role models.
• Advise parents about the various driving schools, Web sites, computer driving simulations, and parent-supervised driving lessons that are available (see Appendix 1 in the original guideline document).

Community Advocacy by Pediatricians

Pediatricians should:

• Support community efforts that encourage safe teenaged driving.
• Work with schools to encourage safety belt use and discourage alcohol use.
• Discourage school systems from continuing traditional driver education programs that are ineffective and encourage licensure of young teenagers.
• Discourage school policies that allow students to drive off campus for lunch.
• Encourage police to enforce GDL and seat belt laws.
• Collaborate with police and media to promote sobriety checkpoints and safety belt education and enforcement programs.

Legislative Advocacy by Pediatricians

Pediatricians should:

• Support strong GDL legislation in their states (see Table below).
• Support improvement and enforcement of laws designed to limit the purchase, possession, and consumption of alcohol by underage adolescents.
• Support primary enforcement of safety belt laws for all occupants.

Table. Essential Features That Should Be Mandated in GDL Systems

It is suggested that states also consider a requirement for additional supervised driver experience/education (focused on hazard recognition and risk avoidance) during the provisional stage and a requirement for an additional on-road test to graduate from provisional to full licensure.

Involvement of the Alcoholic Beverage and Entertainment Industries in Encouraging Responsible Behavior

Pediatricians should:

• Encourage the alcoholic beverage industry to eliminate advertising aimed at youth.
• Encourage the media to avoid portrayal of speeding and reckless driving in contexts that invite imitation.
• Encourage the media to show universal use of safety belts.

None provided

The type of evidence supporting the recommendations is not specifically stated.

Prevention of motor vehicle injuries related to teen driving

Not stated

An implementation strategy was not provided.

Staying Healthy

Effectiveness
Patient-centeredness

Not applicable: The guideline was not adapted from another source.

2006 Dec

American Academy of Pediatrics - Medical Specialty Society

American Academy of Pediatrics

Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention

Committee on Adolescence

Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention, 2005-2006: Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH, Chairperson; Carl R. Baum, MD; M. Denise Dowd, MD, MPH; Dennis R. Durbin, MD, MSCE; H. Garry Gardner, MD; Robert D. Sege, MD, PhD; Michael S. Turner, MD; *Jeffrey C. Weiss, MD; Joseph L. Wright, MD, MPH

Liaisons: Ruth A. Brenner, MD, MPH, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Stephanie Bryn, MPH, Health Resources and Services Administration/Maternal and Child Health Bureau; Julie Gilchrist, MD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Jonathan D. Midgett, PhD, US Consumer Product Safety Commission; Alexander (Sandy) Sinclair, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Lynne J. Warda, MD, Canadian Paediatric Society

Staff: Rebecca Levin-Goodman, MPH

Committee on Adolescence, 2005-2006: Joanthan D. Klein, MD, Chairperson; Michelle S. Barratt, MD; Margaret J. Blythe, MD; Paula K. Braverman, MD; Angela Diaz, MD; David S. Rosen, MD; Charles J. Wibbelsman, MD

Liaisons: Miriam Kaufman, MD, Canadian Paediatric Society; Marc R. Laufer, MD, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Benjamin Shain, MD, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Staff: Karen Smith

*Lead author

Not stated

This is the current release of the guideline.

All clinical reports and policy statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics automatically expire 5 years after publication unless reaffirmed, revised, or retired at or before that time.

None available

This NGC summary was completed by ECRI on April 20, 2007. The information was verified by the guideline developer on April 23, 2007.

This NGC summary is based on the original guideline, which is subject to the guideline developer's copyright restrictions. Please contact the Permissions Editor, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), 141 Northwest Point Blvd, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007.