Adjusting the Rear View Mirror: An Examination of Youth Driving Culture

Abstract

The majority of deaths for contemporary young people are related to injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents. Most prevention efforts targeted at addressing the issue are less than effective and do not address youth driving as a culture. This article presents findings from an ethnographic study that attempts to understand the ways in which youth driving culture is organized in regulatory texts and practices. A brief historical review of youth studies provides a context for how we have come to frame the problem through public health and psychology. The study is based on close observation of youth driving lessons, examination of curricular and policy documents, and public health literatures. Results show that prevention efforts are most often attempted by assigning individual blame to risky young people and provide paradoxical messages that simultaneously pathologize and normalize youth and driving. Theoretical and practical implications for young drivers and the sociological study of youth are discussed.