New approaches to teen driver safety

Teen drivers
Two 17-year-old girls drive together.
Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images

Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers. Some experts think scaring new drivers with images of horrific crashes is the way to get teens to realize how serious driving is. Others disagree, saying that's not the way to actually build the skills necessary to produce good drivers. They prefer to use positive reinforcement.

We wanted to have a conversation about the topic after two teenagers were killed and two others hurt in a rear-end crash on Interstate 94 near Hudson this week.

David Strayer, professor of psychology and director of the Applied Cognition Lab at the University of Utah, will join The Daily Circuit Thursday to take a look at the new approaches to making teens safer drivers. Chris Mullen, director of technology research at State Farm Insurance, will also join the discussion.

KERRI'S TAKEAWAY

I was surprised that the positive reinforcement of good behavior with teen drivers works.

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