Study finds teens and pickup trucks make a risky duo
Study finds teens, trucks a risky duo
Among the surprises? Big vehicles have a safety drawback: big engines
Published 5:30 am, Monday, October 18, 2010
Eric Everett never sends a text message while driving.
And he drives a 2001 pickup, a hand-me-down from his dad and, more recently, his brother. Dangerous?
No way, he says.
"It rides nice," says Everett, 16, a junior at Dobie High School. "I think it's safer than a car, because if a car hits you, you're more likely to be OK."
It's a common perception, but a new study suggests otherwise.
Chandra Bhat, a professor of transportation engineering at the University of Texas, and graduate students Rajesh Paleti and Naveen Eluru looked at the relationship between the time of day, number of passengers and type of vehicle, among other factors, and the severity of injuries in auto accidents.
Some of the findings were no-brainers: Drinking and driving is the deadliest combination for teen drivers. Others were more surprising and even conflict with the state's graduated license law, intended to limit both freedom and risk for teen drivers.
Among those findings is that driving a pickup puts teens, especially 16- and 17-year-olds, at far higher risk of injury than driving a car, Bhat said.
"Most of these pickup trucks, they have a very powerful engine, and a powerful engine capability appears to lead to aggressive driving behavior when the pickup is in the hands of a teenager," he said.
Pickups, especially older models, also may lack the safety features of a sedan, he said.
The study, published in the traffic safety journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, contained a few other surprises, too.
Driving with one young passenger is riskier than driving alone or with two teen passengers. Graduated license laws in Texas and several other states limit new drivers under age 18 to one teen passenger, other than family members.
Drivers are most aggressive during the morning rush hour . New drivers in Texas aren't allowed to drive between midnight and 5 a.m. with certain exceptions.
Even one year can make a difference: 16- and 17-year-olds are more likely to drive aggressively than those 18-20.
Teen drivers know the risks. And, at least when they talk to adults, they say they don't take any.
Hacopian, who drives a 1995 Bronco, said he isn't allowed to drive after 11 p.m., and never takes more than two passengers.
"More kids, more chances of something bad happening," he said. "We're teenagers."
Bhat's study used national data to determine factors in aggressive driving — loosely defined as deliberately unsafe behavior, such as weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off, speeding, tailgating or running a light - and how that, combined with things like seat belt use, type of vehicle and time of day, lead to injuries in a crash.
Younger drivers take more risks than those who are just a year or two older, they found. That increases if other teenagers are in the car.
Teens driving with one teen passenger are more likely to be in an accident than those with two or more teen passengers, perhaps because the young driver feels a duty to entertain a solo passenger.
Researchers also looked at morning rush hour crashes.
Teens account for 15 percent of miles traveled to and from school but more than half of injuries and fatalities in school-related travel, Bhat said.
Evidence that teen body rhythms leave them sleepy in the hours after dawn could help to explain that, he said.
Possible remedies include:
Requiring parents to take a course on teen drinking and other risks.
Changing rules that limit new drivers to no more than one unrelated teen passenger.
Requiring drivers to take a refresher defensive driving course at age 18.
Before earning a license, teens must complete an approved driving class or parent-taught curriculum s.
She's enrolled at Houston Driving School and said she can't imagine multitasking behind the wheel.
"I see people talking on the phone or texting. I couldn't," she said. "Or putting on makeup. I see people and I think, 'How are you doing that?' "
Many teens take drivers education at 15, allowing them to test for their license on their 16th birthday.
"My parents weren't ready for it," she said.