Age differences in risky driving

The present paper examines age differences in reported riskydriving (e.g. drinking and driving, aggressive driving, non-useof seat-belts), other risky behavior (e.g. heavy use of alcohol,use of illicit drugs) and traffic accident and violation involvement.The results are based on a national survey of 10 000 respondentsaged 16–69 who were interviewed during a telephone survey.Young drivers (16–24) were not only more likely to engagein risky driving and have higher accident and violation rates(corrected for distance traveled) but they were also more likelyto report engaging in other risky behaviors. The 20–24age group was generally more likely than the 16–19 agegroup to report risky behavior, whether driving related or not,while the 16–19 age group tended to have higher accidentand violation rates. Similar age differences were observed forboth male and females, although the age effect was more pronouncedfor males. Risky driving, the other risky behaviors and accidentand violation involvement were all positively and significantlycorrelated but the magnitude of the correlation was modest.Potential programs for promoting safer driving among youth arediscussed.