Novice Drivers 2025
Hosted by Dr. Charlie Klauer
Dr. Sheila “Charlie” Klauer is a research scientist and the leader for the Applied Driver Assessment, Performance, and Training Group. She is also an Associate Professor in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Virginia Tech. Dr. Klauer has been working in transportation research since 1996, previously at the Battelle Human Factors Research Center in Seattle, WA and currently at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Since joining VTTI in 1999, she has served as the Principal Investigator for a series of naturalistic driving studies that included three teen naturalistic driving studies and the Canada Naturalistic Driving Study. Currently, she is the PI on the Driver Adaptation of L2 Technologies and two additional NDS’s focused on adolescents: the first is concerned with adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the second NDS is focused on adolescents diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. Dr. Klauer also served as the chair for TRB ACH60 Vehicle User Education, Training, and Licensing Technical Committee.
Traffic Safety Impacts of Positive Youth Development
Ms. Christine Yager
This presentation will discuss the top risks that young drivers face and the root causes that contribute to an increased risk of car crashes. The presenter will share an approach to combat this problem that utilizes peer programming and several theories within the health prevention framework. Data collected from the presenter’s program using this approach will be shared, including results of a nationwide survey of high school students, field observation studies of certain risky behaviors, and a smartphone application to reduce youth distracted driving.
Case Studies in the Implementation of Novice Driver Training Programs at the State and National Level
Dr. Johnathon Ehsani and Dr. Donald Fisher
The administration of novice driver educational standards and policies are a State’s responsibility. The federal government has taken an active role in providing detailed Novice Teen Driver Education and Training Administrative Standards (NTDETAS). However, the federal government cannot require States to implement particular types of training even if large scale randomized control trials have shown evidence that these types of trainings reduce crashes. Hazard anticipation training and attention maintenance training are two types of training that have shown promising reductions in crashes. Getting them implemented at a State level can be a challenge. Five approaches are discussed that have broader implications for the implementation of proven novice driver training components across States: 1) their introduction into national level novice driver training programs (e.g., AAA); 2) their introduction into licensing exams and thereby, indirectly, encouraging the development of training programs to address the licensing exams (e.g., the State of Washington) 3) their introduction into regional and national level insurance industry sponsored training (e.g., Arbella and State Farm Insurance); 4) their deployment on smartphones for widespread adoption; and 5) their implementation into the health care system in pediatrician’s practices.
Research Immersion for High School, Community College, and Undergraduate Students
Dr. Victoria Deguzman
Outreach programs expose students to transportation research. The Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Irvine (ITS-Irvine) hosts two programs which expose high school, undergraduate and community college students to the growing field of transportation research. ITS-Irvine hosts the Pre-College Research Immersion Program (PRIME) geared towards high school students and the Transportation Research Immersion Program (TRIP) intended for UCI undergraduates and community college students. Now in their third year, these eight-week summer programs engage the participants in transportation research, allowing them to gain real world exposure to the transportation industry. Participants are each assigned a research project as well as an ITS-Irvine faculty associate mentor whom they work alongside throughout the project. Upon completion of the program, participants present their research at the Emerging Scholars Transportation Research Showcase which provides the students with valuable presentation experience.
“We’ve had great success with this program,” said Dr. Victoria Deguzman, ITS-Irvine Assistant Director for Programs and Engagement. “The majority of students who participate continue on to pursue transportation research at the undergraduate or graduate level or go on to work in the field.”
Turning Legal Information into Usable Data: A New Dataset to Systematically Quantify State Novice Driver Licensing Laws and Regulations
Ms. Kerri Lowrey
Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death in the first three decades of Americans’ lives. The CDC has named MVCs as a “winnable battle,” largely because of the demonstrated effectiveness of evidence-based laws/regulations aimed at making the roads safer by influencing behavior. Legislative success stories include primary enforcement seatbelt laws, ignition interlock programs, and graduated driver licensing. Effectiveness of other legislative approaches remains uncertain, such as specific elements of driver education programs and cell phone restrictions for young drivers. However, the legal data needed to study the effect of laws and regulations on traffic safety outcomes is mostly excluded from the universe of usable data, even as the rest of the health system is working to build, share, and use a wide range of health, safety, and social data. This nontraditional presentation will present a new, publicly available dataset, developed under NHTSA Cooperative Agreement 693JJ92250003, of statutes and administrative regulations related to novice driver licensing in all 50 States and D.C. in effect as of December 31, 2021.
This project used the methods of “legal epidemiology” to turn legislative and regulatory information into usable data. Legal epidemiology is a transdisciplinary research model that blends scientific methods and traditional lawyerly functions of normative and doctrinal research and analysis. It is a powerful tool for enabling outcomes research on the efficacy of specific legal interventions and the impact of laws and legal practices on traffic safety outcomes. The dataset is comprised of 99 variables on novice driver licensing topics that were identified and finalized in consultation with NHTSA staff and subject-matter experts, including graduated driver licensing aws and related restrictions; driver education requirements, such as curricula and instructor standards; testing requirements; data collection policies; suspension and reinstatement; licensing of non-citizens and reciprocity; and licensing provisions related to drivers with disabilities. Laws were collected using a systematic primary legal research approach beginning with development and testing of a Westlaw search strategy and secondary source check to ensure full capture of laws. Statutes and regulations were then analyzed and coded according to recurring textual themes using MonQcle, a legal content analysis platform. Redundant coding was employed to ensure inter-rater agreement.
The goal of the project was to provide a systematic, comprehensive, and accurate snapshot of each State’s laws related to novice driver licensing that is publicly accessible and housed on a user-friendly policy surveillance platform, LawAtlas. The data are also available in downloadable format (i.e., Excel) to enable outcomes research and strategic planning in traffic and driver safety. Ultimately, the detailed legal data will enable traffic safety researchers and officials to identify gaps and opportunities for research and adoption of best practices and model laws. The data will also enable the detailed study of critical emerging issues, such as reasons for delayed licensure and inequities in crash morbidity/mortality borne by low-income communities of color.
Evaluation of an App-Based Intervention Program for Teen Driver Speeding Mitigation and Intelligent Speed Assist Technology Use
Dr. John Lenneman
Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute are conducting research exploring the feasibility of an app-based countermeasure to promote driving at safe speeds and at safe following distances by teens. The countermeasure uses a parent-teen driving agreement, parental monitoring of teens, driving performance scores from a smartphone app, and prescribed parent feedback to teens about their driving behavior (leveraging behavior change principles). A study that is currently being executed includes 30 parent-teen dyads throughout the State of Michigan. Teenage participants have Level 2 or Level 3 Graduated Driver Licenses, have access to and are able to drive a vehicle equipped with an Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), and have downloaded and are able to use an application that monitors their driving behavior.
Each dyad’s participation will occur over the course of 4 weeks and will entail three appointments (i.e., baseline, intervention, post). Measures collected at the appointments include but are not limited to speeding events, driving scores from the smartphone app, crashes and violations, and self-reports of use of the ISA system. Findings from the study will be used to provide recommendations for the development of future app-based teen safe driving approaches, particularly given the increasing trend in ISA integration in vehicles. In this presentation, we will present preliminary findings for discussion.