Developing a Readiness to Drive Scale to measure parent perceptions of teenager driving skills

Abstract
Background: Although teen crash fatalities have fallen markedly in the last decades, the newest drivers still experience elevated crash risk. Parents and guardians play an integral role in their teenagers’ early driving experiences, and having a tool to examine and assess their attitudes about their teen driver’s skills can enhance the work of parents/guardians and researchers alike. Method: The current analysis examines the Readiness to Drive Scale, a survey instrument assembled by researchers at the University of North Carolina’s Center for the Study of Young Drivers. The analyses examine the underlying factor structure of the instrument’s items and assess face, convergent, and predictive validity. Results: Readiness to Drive scores increased over time. The principal component analysis supports the aggregation of the Readiness to Drive Scale into a single component. The survival analysis indicated the likelihood of having obtained a license at a given measurement point was significantly related to the Readiness score at the previous measurement point, as well as the number of hours driven between the two measurement points. Likelihood of licensure was related to higher readiness scores and more hours driven. Finally, higher Readiness scores were related to fewer restrictions on teenagers’ early independent driving. Discussion: The Readiness to Drive Scale is a useful and valid measure of parent perceptions of their teen’s abilities across a range of situations. These analyses demonstrate a link between parent perceptions and their management of their teen’s early driving. This tool is useful for researchers, parents, and educators.