Spears Zoza Grace, Schoen Brittany, Thompson Tiffany, Nichols Michele, King William, Monroe Kathy
From the University of Alabama School of Medicine, Children's of Alabama Hospital, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham.
South Med J. 2019 Nov;112(11):562-565. doi: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000001036.
In the United States, the leading cause of death for adolescents aged 16 to 24 years is motor vehicle crashes, with Alabama ranked as the second-worst state in the nation for teen driving deaths. We sought to determine the efficacy of teenage driving education within the setting of the pediatric emergency department and to assess the driving habits of teenagers and their parents and their understanding of the Alabama Graduated Driver's License (GDL) law.
Surveys were administered to noncritically ill teenagers aged 13 to 19 years and their parents who presented to the children's emergency department. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Presurveys were administered to assess driving habits and knowledge. Intervention was then given in the form of a "safe driving toolkit," followed by postsurveys to measure educational outcomes. Pre- and postsurvey data were then analyzed and compared using Epistat.
A total of 41 parents, 2 grandparents, and 45 teenagers were enrolled in this study. An additional 47 teenagers answered a single curfew question at a teen driving event. Of all of the participants, 63% had never heard of the Alabama GDL law, and of that 63%, 37% had been enrolled in a driver's education course. A χ analysis revealed no significant difference between parents and teenagers having taken a driver's education course. Of the participants, 22% responded that they knew the specifics of the Alabama GDL law, with only 1 correct on all 3 counts. The most common item missed was the curfew for teenagers, with 4 believing it to be 8 pm, 14 believing it to be 9 pm, 23 believing it to be 10 pm, and 7 believing it to be 11 pm. Sixty-nine percent of the respondents correctly answered that there was to be no cellular telephone use while driving for teenagers with a GDL. More than 97.2% of participants, both parents and teens, reported learning new information from this study.
The majority of participants enrolled were not aware of the Alabama GDL law, which has been in place since 2002. More than 97% of those surveyed were given new information during the education session. There is a strong need for further public education regarding the law and safe driving habits. Sixty-one percent of respondents believe that the teen curfew is earlier than the present curfew. The authors believe that this shows support for revising the curfew in the present law to an earlier time. Nighttime driving restrictions starting at 10 pm or earlier have been shown to result in greater reductions in motor vehicle crashes involving teenagers. Our study affirmed that teen driving education within the pediatric emergency department setting is efficacious.
在美国，16至24岁青少年的主要死因是机动车撞车事故，阿拉巴马州在青少年驾驶死亡方面位列全国第二差的州。我们试图确定儿科急诊科环境下青少年驾驶教育的效果，并评估青少年及其父母的驾驶习惯以及他们对阿拉巴马州分级驾照（GDL）法律的理解。
对到儿童急诊科就诊的13至19岁非危重症青少年及其父母进行调查。参与是自愿且匿名的。进行预调查以评估驾驶习惯和知识。然后以“安全驾驶工具包”的形式进行干预，随后进行后调查以衡量教育成果。然后使用Epistat对预调查和后调查数据进行分析和比较。
本研究共纳入41名父母、2名祖父母和45名青少年。另外47名青少年在一次青少年驾驶活动中回答了一个关于宵禁的问题。在所有参与者中，63%从未听说过阿拉巴马州GDL法律，在这63%中，37%参加过驾驶教育课程。χ分析显示，参加过驾驶教育课程的父母和青少年之间没有显著差异。在参与者中，22%表示他们知道阿拉巴马州GDL法律的具体内容，在所有三项内容上只有1人回答正确。最常答错的项目是青少年宵禁时间，4人认为是晚上8点，14人认为是晚上9点，23人认为是晚上10点，7人认为是晚上11点。69%的受访者正确回答，持有GDL的青少年在开车时不得使用手机。超过97.2%的参与者，包括父母和青少年，报告从本研究中学到了新信息。
自2002年以来就已实施的阿拉巴马州GDL法律，大多数参与研究的人并不知晓。超过97%的受访者在教育课程中获得了新信息。对于该法律和安全驾驶习惯，强烈需要进一步的公众教育。61%的受访者认为青少年宵禁时间比现行宵禁时间更早。作者认为，这表明支持将现行法律中的宵禁时间提前。已表明晚上10点或更早开始的夜间驾驶限制会使涉及青少年的机动车撞车事故大幅减少。我们的研究证实，儿科急诊科环境下的青少年驾驶教育是有效的。
