Teen driving readiness: Insights from a review article (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)

In “Teen Driving,” a recently published article in December’s issue of Pediatric Clinics of North America, Patty Huang and Brian Johnston set out to synthesize the current evidence on teen driving risk and to clarify the role pediatric clinicians can play in preventing motor vehicle–related injury and death among adolescents.

Although learning to drive is a milestone that offers teens independence and opportunity, it remains the most dangerous activity most adolescents undertake. Driver inexperience — not age alone — is the dominant risk factor. Clinical guidance, family engagement and policy-level protections can meaningfully reduce harm during this vulnerable period.

The researchers reviewed epidemiologic trends that frame teen driving as a persistent public health crisis. Despite decades of progress through engineering advances and graduated driver’s licensing (GDL) laws, teen crash fatalities have risen sharply since 2019. These increases are not evenly distributed: rural teens, American Indian and Alaska Native youth, and adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds experience disproportionate risk. This inequity underscores the need for clinicians to recognize driving safety as part of comprehensive adolescent health care rather than solely a transportation issue.

The researchers highlight how the neurocognitive demands of driving intersect with adolescent development. Novice drivers are still acquiring hazard perception, speed judgment, and attentional control, making the transition from supervised to independent driving particularly dangerous. Specific behaviors — speeding, distraction, nighttime driving, peer passengers and seat belt nonuse — can substantially elevate crash risk. Accumulating supervised driving experience across diverse environmental conditions is the most effective intervention available.

Access the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia website to learn more.