This week marks the tenth anniversary of National Teen Driver Safety Week. Things look much different than they did ten years ago. Though it is tragic to lose even one young person in a car crash, the numbers have decreased nearly 43 percent in the past decade. In 2015, 4,308 teens were involved in fatal crashes compared to 7,500 in 2005*.

Where it all began

The 2006 National Young Driver Survey was a research collaboration between State Farm® and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. More than 5000 teens were surveyed to help us better understand teens’ driving attitudes and behaviors. Young drivers shared what they believe affects safe driving. In their own words, they provided insights on parental involvement, distractions, and risky driving behaviors.

The survey revealed a need to shine a light on ways to keep young drivers safe behind the wheel. In 2007, State Farm, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and members of Congress teamed up to designate the third week of October as National Teen Driver Safety Week.

“Over the past ten years we have seen a great combined effort to keep teens safe behind the wheel,” said Chris Mullen, Director of Technology Research at State Farm. “All across the country students, parents, schools, the medical community, insurers, safety organizations, auto manufacturers, corporations, policymakers and others have worked to improve safety through education, awareness, technology and strong Graduated Driver Licensing laws.”

Life-saving laws

The National Young Driver Survey highlighted the importance of the provisions that make up Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws. Strong GDL laws consist of: minimum age of 16 for a learner’s permit, a six-month holding period, supervised driving requirement, nighttime driving restriction, passenger restriction, cell phone restriction, and a minimum age of 18 for an unrestricted license.

Studies from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) attribute reductions in crash deaths to strong GDL programs. Nearly all states have substantially strengthened their GDL laws over the past twenty years.

All states now have at least some elements of graduated driver licensing. IIHS has created this calculator that estimates the effect of teen driver licensing changes, by state.

Parents making an impact

Over the past ten years, there has grown to be more emphasis on parental involvement in the learning to driver process. GDL laws, schools and driver education programs have placed more emphasis on the role of parents in the teen driving experience.

When teens begin driver’s education, many states and localities now require parents to attend informational meetings. This helps parents understand what their child will be learning, what learning is required outside of school, and familiarizes them with the state GDL laws.

“Car crashes are the greatest danger your teens face,” said Dr. Flaura Winston of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “The good news? These crashes are preventable. As parents of new drivers, you play a vital role in keeping your teens safe on the road. In fact, our research has found that you can cut your teens’ crash risk in half by staying involved, setting rules, and being supportive.”

Peer-to-Peer Power

Award-winning Illinois driver education instructor Judy Weber-Jones believes teen-led safety programs have had a great impact on teens’ driving behaviors. “When teens lead outreach programs, during National Teen Driver Safety Week and year-round, they are helping create a culture of safe driving in their communities.”

Gerald Apple agrees. He is a board member of the Washington Traffic Safety Education Association and advisor for the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) clubs at Shelton High School and Junior High in Washington State. “We have seen students make a great impact on awareness of safety issues,” he said. “Through their distracted driving and other safety presentations and pledge drives within their schools and even elementary schools, kids are really paying attention.”

Going forward

Even though teen fatalities have gone down significantly compared to ten years ago, recent crash statistics show they are beginning to rise, just like the numbers for drivers of all ages.

“We really must turn this trend back around,” said Chris Mullen. “Studies show we can achieve that through a collaborative approach that includes teen-led programs, effective and affordable driver education, strong GDL laws, parental involvement, and advances in safety technology.”

*Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System

In movies and daydreams, America in decades past was a land of open highways, stylish vehicles and a simpler life. It was an era of Route 66, drive-ins and cruising.

It was also an era when lots of people died in car crashes.

As a percentage of the U.S. population, traffic fatalities were more than twice as high in the 1960s than today. In raw numbers, 1972 was the deadliest year. That year more than 54,000 fatalities, compared with fewer than 34,000 deaths in 2012, despite having a much larger population base, occurred. And measured in deaths per million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), the current rate of 1.1. This is significantly reduced from the 7.2 rate of 1950 – and a fraction of the 1921 rate of 24.1 deaths per million VMT.

Making changes to save lives

So what’s changed, and how did it happen? Simply put, researchers pinpointed problems. Then engineers, policymakers and advocates tackled them one by one.

View Auto Safety Timeline

“It wasn’t that long ago that a lot of things we take for granted today didn’t exist,” said Anne McCartt, Senior Vice President for Research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). “Painted lines on the roads, shoulders, guardrails… By the 1960s cars had seatbelts, but people didn’t use them.”

And then there are technological improvements like airbags and child safety seats. Although required today, they were optional in the past.

In all these cases, researchers analyzed data from car crashes to figure out why injuries and deaths were happening. Then they determined what action to take to correct the source of the problem.

The power of “research to action”

A great deal of data came from insurance companies, which have unique insight into the often tragic results of crashes.

“Through our ‘research to action’ philosophy at State Farm, we focus on research to identify specific risks and evidence-supported actions we can take to achieve a positive impact,” said Chris Mullen, Director of Technology Research at State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. “If you truly want to be a good neighbor – and we do – you want to help people avoid risks whenever possible.”

To show how far we’ve come and the cumulative impact of the “research to action” philosophy, State Farm created an interactive timeline that highlights key advancements in auto safety starting in the late 1800’s.

As a founding member of IIHS, backer of research, data source and advocate, Mullen said, State Farm has played a role in many critical changes, including:

• Airbags: A leading role in the early 1980s legal battle that resulted in the requirement for airbags today. This decision had even went all the way to the Supreme Court.

• Child safety: A joint effort with The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia® to research child passenger safety in the late 1990s. This led to numerous changes in car seats, usage recommendations and laws in the years since.

• Teen drivers: Research and education related to young drivers and science-based efforts to make Graduated Driver Licensing. This is a program that lets new drivers gain experience gradually.

But changes don’t need to make headlines to be significant. McCartt noted that State Farm data on whiplash cases led the IIHS to review head restraints. This in turn led auto manufacturers to redesign them.

“The whole consumer awareness effort about auto safety is huge,” said McCartt. “Auto manufacturers now make it a selling point. It’s just phenomenal how much safer we are today.”

What’s next: Automated vehicle technology, engaged driving

McCartt said the IIHS is retooling to allow research on automated safety systems, like braking assist and other collision avoidance technologies. She said the technology side is the next big wave, and it requires entirely different facilities to test it.

On the driver side of the equation, Mullen and State Farm are focusing on the Engaged Driving Initiative (EDI).

“In 2012, the Auto Technology Research staff that I lead at State Farm conducted an environmental scan to identify significant auto safety research issues needing to be addressed. Distracted driving shot to the top of the list,” said Mullen. “Today drivers are challenged with demands on their attention by multiple devices and activities that may distract them from driving. We need to determine the best ways to encourage drivers to take personal responsibility in adopting safety-conscious behaviors.”

As part of EDI, State Farm is backing researchers exploring the causes and solutions of distraction, and even how best to research it. (The researchers presented their findings at the Engaged Driving Symposium (March 31, 2014, Washington D.C.)

It’s the first step towards future safety innovations– and a critical moment for those whose lives will be saved in years to come.