This WSU Newsline Podcast is available at http://www.wichita.edu/newslinepodcast. See the transcript below:

You’re listening to the podcast edition of the Wichita State University audio newsline. Learn more about WSU — the home of Thinkers, Doers, Movers and Shockers — on the Web at wichita.edu.

Research has shown that the leading cause of death among teenagers is traffic accidents. Les Anderson, a communications expert at Wichita State University, is a member of a research team overseeing a teen driving study. Researchers with the Kansas Teen Driver Research and Education Project interviewed 1,000 families with teens to identify beliefs and opinions regarding teen drivers. The project is a collaborative effort of AAA Kansas, Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas Turnpike Authority, Kansas Health Foundation, Sunflower Foundation, Wichita State University’s Elliott School of Communication and the University of North Carolina Center for the Study of Young Drivers. Anderson talks about the teen driving study.

Anderson: “The survey involved interviews with a thousand families, parents and their teen drivers who are 16 and 17 and gone through the driving instruction period, about what they thought were some of the problems when they were learning to drive and how the teens also felt about that.”

Anderson says the results of the study may lead to the passage of a new bill in the Kansas Legislature.

Anderson: “This is a bill that is now in the Legislature and would raise the age at which most Kansans can get a learner’s permit from 14 to 15, although 14-year-olds could still get farm work permits and they could drive with adult supervision. It also raises the age for a restricted license from 15 to 16, and then there’s a six-month period after a young driver turns 16, instead of automatically getting an unrestricted license.”

Anderson explains why a change in teen driving laws is attractive to many teens and their parents.

Anderson: “Research has shown, and statistics back up the fact, that the leading cause of death among teenagers is traffic accidents, and the idea here is to help give these young drivers more structure, more instruction at a little later stage in life before they’re unrestricted in driving.”

Anderson says a safety video is being developed for parents and teen drivers.

Anderson: “Kevin Hager, who teaches with me in the Elliott School, and I are working on a safety video for parents and teen drivers about how they can be more safe when they drive or when they start to learn to drive.”

There are a range of topics covered in the survey.

Anderson: “Questions on the survey covered a range of topics and they generally focused on parents concerned about young driver safety in the state, their experiences and actions as their teenager began to drive, and their beliefs and opinions regarding ways to address teen driver safety.”

Anderson said teen drivers and their parents generally approve of a graduated driver’s license system.

Anderson: “So far we have only the adult or parent surveys tallied, but we do have one segment of the teenage driver surveys back and that, surprisingly somewhat, they approve of a graduated driver’s license system as do their parents.”

Anderson says parents are concerned about a number of factors that they see as risky for their teen drivers.

Anderson: “Among the concerns of parents about driving situations or conditions that they think are risky for their teenage driver — cell phones and bad weather and passengers were at the top of the list along with nighttime driving.”

Some of the initial results of the study are by a margin of 4-to-1 that parents endorse the passenger restriction limiting the number of young passengers. Fifty-six percent of parents think Kansas should have a night driving restriction. Nearly 90 percent of parents overwhelmingly endorse the prohibition of phone use by teenagers while driving, and 65 percent endorsed a much more comprehensive restriction, saying it should apply to all ages.

Thanks for listening. Until next time, this is Joe Kleinsasser for Wichita State University.