Hard Braking Events Among Novice Teenage Drivers By Passenger Characteristics

In a naturalistic study of teenage drivers (N = 42) hard braking events of ≤-0.45 g were assessed over the first 6 months of licensure. A total of 1,721 hard braking events were recorded. The video footage of a sample (816) of these events was examined to evaluate validity and reasons for hard braking. Of these, 788 (96.6%) were estimated valid, of which 79.1% were due to driver misjudgment, 10.8% to risky driving behavior, 5.3% to legitimate evasive maneuvers, and 4.8% to distraction. Hard braking events per 10 trips and per 100 miles were compared across passenger characteristics. Hard braking rates per 10 trips among newly licensed teenagers during the first 6 months of licensure were significantly higher when driving with teen passengers and lower with adult passengers than driving alone; rates per 100 miles were lower with adult passengers than with no passengers. Further examination of the results indicates that rates of hard braking with teenage passengers were significantly higher compared with no passengers: 1) for male drivers; 2) during the first month of licensure. The data suggest that that novice teenage driving performance may not be as good or safe when driving alone or with teenage passengers than with adult passengers and provide support for the hypothesis that teenage passengers increase driving risks, particularly during the first month of licensure.