Road traffic accident news
19/02/2008

Car crashes may be caused by father's driving attitudes

Cranfield University research has revealed that parents can be a great influence on the chances of their children being involved in a road traffic accident. Fathers are particularly influential in this respect.

Researchers interviewed several young people in the UK who had recently become drivers or were intending to do so. Their questions explored these young people's attitudes to potential car crash causes such as speeding, drink driving, and aggression, and found that fathers were very strong role models for these attitudes.

A senior researcher said, "Early experiences in the car with mum and dad strongly influence the way young people think about driving.

"If parents don't seem to care about risk, why should they?"

Safety charity RoadPeace said, "Parents should realise they have a much greater influence on their children's driving behaviour. This is a problem with trying to reach out to young drivers, because their attitudes are already fixed."

This suggests that helping your children to avoid road traffic accidents may begin at a very early age, and acts to encourage all drivers to actively promote safety whenever children are in the car.