Transportation Risk Behaviors Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019

Motor-vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and nonfatal injury among U.S. adolescents, resulting in approximately 2,500 deaths and 300,000 nonfatal injuries each year. Risk for motor-vehicle crashes and resulting injuries and deaths varies, depending on such behaviors as seat belt use or impaired or distracted driving. Improved understanding of adolescents’ transportation risk behaviors can guide prevention efforts. Therefore, data from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey were analyzed to determine prevalence of transportation risk behaviors, including not always wearing a seat belt, riding with a driver who had been drinking alcohol (riding with a drinking driver), driving after drinking alcohol, and texting or e-mailing while driving. Differences by student characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, academic grades in school, and sexual identity) were calculated. Multivariable analyses controlling for student characteristics examined associations between risk behaviors. Approximately 43.1% of U.S. high school students did not always wear a seat belt and 16.7% rode with a drinking driver during the 30 days before the survey. Approximately 59.9% of students had driven a car during the 30 days before the survey. Among students who drove, 5.4% had driven after drinking alcohol and 39.0% had texted or e-mailed while driving. Prevalence of not always wearing a seat belt was higher among students who were younger, black, or had lower grades. Riding with a drinking driver was higher among Hispanic students or students with lower grades. Driving after drinking alcohol was higher among students who were older, male, Hispanic, or had lower grades. Texting while driving was higher among older students or white students. Few differences existed by sexual identity. Multivariable analyses revealed that students engaging in one transportation risk behavior were more likely to engage in other transportation risk behaviors. Traffic safety and public health professionals can use these findings to reduce transportation risk behaviors by selecting, implementing, and contextualizing the most appropriate and effective strategies for specific populations and for the environment.