Teen Driving Performance Associated with Distraction, ADHD, and Other Risk Factors (2025)
Chapter: Front Matter
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BEHAVIORAL TRAFFIC SAFETY COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
BTSCRP RESEARCH REPORT 15
Teen Driving Performance Associated with Distraction, ADHD, and Other Risk Factors
Lesheng Hua
Sheila Klauer
Taylor Linkous
Shu Han
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA
A N D
Allison Curry
Childrenʼs Hospital of Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Subscriber Categories
Operations and Traffic Management • Safety and Human Factors
Research sponsored by the Governors Highway Safety Association and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
2025
BEHAVIORAL TRAFFIC SAFETY COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
Since the widespread introduction of motor vehicles more than a century ago, crashes involving their operation remain a significant public health concern. While there have been enormous improvements in highway design and construction, as well as motor vehicle safety, which have been instrumental in lowering the rate of crashes per million miles in the United States, more than 35,000 people die every year in motor vehicle crashes. In far too many cases, the root causes of the crashes are the unsafe behaviors of motor vehicle operators, cyclists, and pedestrians. Understanding human behaviors and developing effective countermeasures to unsafe ones is difficult and remains a major weakness in our traffic safety efforts.
The Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP) develops practical solutions to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce costs of road traffic crashes associated with unsafe behaviors. BTSCRP is a forum for coordinated and collaborative research efforts. It is managed by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) under the direction and oversight of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) with funding provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Funding for the program was originally established in Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), Subsection 402(c), which created the National Cooperative Research and Evaluation Program (NCREP). Fixing Americaʼs Surface Transportation (FAST) Act continued the program. In 2017, GHSA entered into an agreement with TRB to manage the research activities, with the program name changed to Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program. The GHSA Executive Board serves as the governing board for the BTSCRP. The Board consists of officers, representatives of the 10 NHTSA regions, and committee and task force chairs. The Research Committee Chair appoints committee members who recommend projects for funding and provide oversight for the activities of BTSCRP. Its ultimate goal is to oversee a quality research program that is committed to addressing research issues facing State Highway Safety Offices. The Executive Board meets annually to approve research projects. Each selected project is assigned to a panel, appointed by TRB, which provides technical guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The majority of panel members represent the intended users of the research projects and have an important role in helping to implement the results. BTSCRP produces a series of research reports and other products such as guidebooks for practitioners. Primary emphasis is placed on disseminating BTSCRP results to the intended users of the research: State Highway Safety Offices and their constituents.
BTSCRP RESEARCH REPORT 15
Project BTS-28
ISSN 2766-5976 (Print)
ISSN 2766-5984 (Online)
ISBN 978-0-309-99489-7
Library of Congress Control Number 2025945339
© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
This material is based upon work sponsored by the Governors Highway Safety Association in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under Agreement No. DTNH2216H00018 or 693JJ92250010. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors.
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COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR BTSCRP RESEARCH REPORT 15
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Richard A. Retting, Senior Program Officer
Tijhuana Stapleton, Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Lincoln Greenhaw, Editor
BTSCRP PROJECT BTS-28 PANEL
Stella Obazee-Igbinedion, Montgomery County Government, Gaithersburg, MD (Chair)
Thomas Antkow, Driver Safety Consultants, Inc./Adult Driver Services, Maryville, TN
Amy M. Boggs, West Virginia Governorʼs Highway Safety Program, Charleston, WV
Anik Das, AtkinsRéalis, Dallas, TX
Melissa Paciulli, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA
Shraddha Sagar, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Christine Watson, NHTSA Liaison
Bernardo B. Kleiner, TRB Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under BTSCRP Project BTS-28 by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) with support from the Childrenʼs Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Dr. Sheila “Charlie” Klauer, Research Scientist within the Division of Vehicle, Driver, and System Safety, was the Project Director and Principal Investigator. The other VTTI authors of this report are Dr. Lesheng Hua, Research Associate, Kaitlyn Bedwell, Research Assistant, and Taylor Linkous, Project Associate. The CHOP researchers include Dr. Allison Curry, Senior Research Scientist and Epidemiologist.
FOREWORD
By Richard A. Retting
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
BTSCRP Research Report 15: Teen Driving Performance Associated with Distraction, ADHD, and Other Risk Factors provides insights into traffic safety risks for teen drivers with different levels of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) screen scores. The report uses naturalistic driving data to assess the incidence of eyes off road (EOR) and crash risk for teen drivers with and without ADHD. The report concludes that teen drivers with ADHD tend to look away from the road more frequently and may be at an elevated risk for missed hazards. This report will be of interest to state highway safety offices (SHSOs) and other stakeholders concerned with young-driver safety.
Young drivers with neurodevelopmental disabilities may be at more risk for motor vehicle crashes due to behavior characteristics commonly associated with these conditions. In recent years, a growing body of research has examined driving risks for teens with autism and those with ADHD. Research has identified concerns about the driving skills of teenagers with ADHD, as well as their increased tendencies to become distracted while driving and to drive at higher speeds. Determining the role of distracted driving in crashes is difficult and inexact for many reasons, including a general lack of evidence.
Under BTSCRP Project BTS-28, “Teen Driving Performance Associated with Distraction, ADHD, and Other Risk Factors,” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was asked to (1) gauge the association between confirmed instances of distracting behaviors and inattention to the driving task by teen drivers with crash and near-crash (CNC) involvement, in relation to their incidence during baseline events; (2) determine whether these instances contribute to CNCs, and if and how these relationships change with increasing driving experience; and (3) compare exposure-based CNC involvement rates, and self-reported risky driving behaviors, for teen drivers with different levels of ADHD screen scores, taking into account the potential influence of other behavioral and demographic factors captured in naturalistic driving study (NDS) data.
Results of BTSCRP Project BTS-28 are documented in BTSCRP Research Report 15. In addition to this report, the following deliverables are available on the National Academies Press website (https://nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching BTSCRP Research Report 15: Teen Driving Performance Associated with Distraction, ADHD, and Other Risk Factors:
- Technical memorandum on implications for policy and practice
- Technical memorandum on implementation of research findings and products
- Technical memorandum on strengths, limitations, and suggested future research
- PowerPoint presentation
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