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recent report from the United Kingdom identifies some of the risk factors unique to teen drivers from rural parts of the country. The report addresses key educational and training needs of those young drivers that may be applicable even on this side of the Atlantic for our young drivers in the rural parts of Colorado.
In this report, the UK identified a few factors which appear to be unique to rural young drivers:
- Rural roads – rural young drivers are 58% more likely to be involved in a collision on rural roads than urban young drivers (and 1% more likely than rural adults)
- 60mph roads – rural young drivers are 68%more likely to be involved in a collision on 60mph roads than urban young drivers (and 11% more than rural adults)
- Away from intersections– rural young drivers are 27%more likely to be involved in a collision not at a intersections than urban young drivers (and 12% more than rural adults)
- Bends – rural young drivers are 52% more likely to be involved in a collision on a bend than urban young drivers(and 42% more than rural adults)
- Darkness – rural young drivers are 63% more likely to be involved in a collision in the dark than urban young drivers(and 45% more than rural adults)
- Loss of control being the top contributory factor – rural young drivers are 28%more likely to have ‘Loss of Control’ as a contributory factorthan urban young drivers(and 34% more than rural adults)
- Wet road surfaces – rural young drivers are 16%more likely to be involved in a collision on a wet road surface than urban young drivers(and 13% more than rural adults)
- Earlier driving licensure – rural young people are 89%more likely to hold a full driving licence than urban young people.
Read more about the data for teens involved in rural motor vehicle crashes and the prevention recommendations.
