Motor Vehicle Crashes (MVCs) are the most prevalent cause of fatalities among 16 to 20 year olds. High-risk driving offenses (which are frequently related to alcohol use) by adolescents at-risk would appreciably decrease the health risks for this population, as well as reduce the $40 billion negative economic impact of such MVCs. To date, interventions to reduce driving offenses have had a very modest impact on driving offenders in general, and an unknown impact on adolescent drivers. The proposed study is a resubmission of a previous grant submitted to CDC (February 2004) which while receiving an excellent score 180 was criticized on two main points: lack of a randomized control group and the need to measure the driving experience of participants. Both of these issues have been addressed in the current study design. The primary aim of this study is to test whether RYDD (Trauma Room exposure with motivational interviewing) in comparison to PCS (Prototypic Community Service) will: (1) change attitudes towards risky driving behaviors post treatment; (2) reduce alcohol use and high-risk driving behaviors at 6-month follow-up; (3) reduce driving offenses at 12-month follow-up; and (4) reduce the number of MVCs at 24-month follow-up. Court mandated youth (n=500) who have been convicted of a high-risk driving offense are randomly assigned to one of two 16 hour program interventions (RYDD or PCS) and followed for one to two years. Subsequent infractions are measured through a combination of court records and self-report. In order to facilitate the dissemination of the RYDD program, the investigators will determine for whom it works best (Aim 2) and how it works (Aim 3) by examining a number of proposed mediators and moderators. Based on their 4 year pilot program, it is expected that positive results for RYDD would be enthusiastically embraced by state and national leaders within the judicial and traffic safety communities and easily transported and implemented in other courts. ? ? ?
| Baird, Janette; Nirenberg, Ted D; Longabaugh, Richard et al. (2013) The effect of group-adapted motivational interviewing on traffic convictions and driving behaviors of court-adjudicated youth. Traffic Inj Prev 14:572-7 |
