Teen driving is particularly dangerous the first 6 months and 1,000 miles of driving, regardless of the amount of supervised practice driving prior to licensure. Parent-imposed limits on novice teen driving privileges are recommended for the first year of licensure, when teens are still learning to drive. Parent limits are associated with less risky driving and fewer violations and crashes. The Checkpoints Program consists of persuasive messages and materials designed to encourage parents to adopt the Checkpoints Parent-Teen Driving Agreement and to limit higher-risk driving privileges among novice teenage drivers. Previous randomized trials evaluating the Checkpoints Program, delivered at permit in one study and licensure in another, have shown significant treatment group effects on parent limit setting, teen risky driving, and violations. The purpose of the current study is to determine the relative effectiveness of the Checkpoints Program when delivered at permit, license, or at both permit and license. The study is being conducted in Rhode Island, where 1,000 parent-teen pairs have been recruited at the time a teen receives a driving permit or provisional license. These pairs have been randomized to the comparison group or to the experimental Checkpoints Program groups (at permit, at licensure, or at permit and licensure). Study participants complete surveys at recruitment, and one month and six months after provisional licensure.
