Stacey Knight, MStat¹, Lawrence J. Cook, MStat¹, Lisa K. Hyde, BS², and Lenora M. Olson, MA¹. (1) Intermountain Injury Control Research Center, University of Utah, 615 Arapeen Drive, Suite 202, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, 801.585.9163, stacey.knight@hsc.utah.edu, (2) University of Utah School of Medicine, Intermountain Injury Control Research Center, 615 Arapeen Dr, Suite 202, Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1226

Introduction: Street racing often involves high speeds on city streets with young drivers. The combination of factors may increase the risk of a crash risk. The purpose of this study is to determine whether teenagers that street race are at an increase risk of a crash compared to teenage drivers cited for other offenses.

Methods: Utah statewide citation and motor vehicle crash databases were probabilistically linked for the years 1992 to 2002. Analyses were restricted to teenage drivers who were issued their first citation between the ages of 15 and 18 years (inclusive). Street racers were defined as drivers that had been cited for racing.

Results: A total of 217,005 teenage drivers were issued a citation during the study period. Of these drivers, 2,382 (1.1%) were issued a citation for street racing. Street racers had more citations on average than teenage drivers cited for other offenses (5.8 vs 3.3; p< 0.001). A total of 48,167 (22.2%) teenage drivers were involved in a crash. Excluding the crashes that resulted in the initial citation, street racers were more likely to be in a previous or subsequent crash than teenage drivers who had a citation for another offense (crude OR=2.0; 95% CI 1.8, 2.2).

Conclusions: Teenage street racers tend to receive more citations and have more crashes than drivers cited for other offenses. Teenage street racers may be an important at-risk population for further study.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Describe the charateristics of individuals involved in street racing.
• Identify the risky driving behavoirs of street racers.
• Discuss possible prevetion efforts to decrease street racing.

Keywords: Motor Vehicles, Risk Taking Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.