Intentions and willingness to engage in risky driving behaviour among high school adolescents: evaluating the bstreetsmart road safety program

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveinvestigate the impact of a road-safety program on adolescent willingness to engage in risky behaviour as probationary drivers, adjusted for covariates of interest.Methodbstreetsmart is a road-safety program delivered to around 25,000 adolescent students annually in New South Wales. Using a smart phone-based app, student and teacher participation incentives, students were surveyed before and after program attendance. Mixed methods linear regression analysed pre-post modified Behaviour of Young Novice Driver (BYNDS_M) scores.Results2360 and 1260 students completed pre- and post-event surveys respectively. Post-event BYNDS_M scores were around 3 points lower than pre-event scores (−2.99, 95%CI - 3.418 to -2.466), indicating reduced intention to engage in risky driving behaviours. Covariates associated with higher stated intentions of risky driving were exposure to risky driving as a passenger (1.21, 95% CI 0.622-2.011), identifying as non-binary gender (20.8, 95% CI 8.795 to 40.852), adjusting for other predictors.ConclusionsTrauma-informed, reality-based injury prevention programs are effective in changing short term stated intentions to engage in risky driving, among a pre-independent driving student population. The adolescent novice driver age group is historically challenging to engage, and injury prevention action must be multi-pronged to address the many factors influencing their behaviour.What is already known on this topicRoad traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for adolescents in most developed countries globally. Injury prevention action must be multi-pronged to address the many factors influencing their behaviourWhat this study addsThe bstreetsmart injury prevention intervention which incorporates trauma informed, CBT influence and reality-based road safety information to around 25,000 students annually, showed significant short-term impact on the stated willingness of the study population to engage in risky driving behaviour when obtaining their probationary licence. Adolescents are strongly influenced by examples of risky road behaviours among their closest adult drivers.How this study might affect research, practice, or policyInterventions such as bstreetsmart hold a positive place in the multi-pronged approach needed to address the difficult issue of novice drivers.