Causes of traffic accidents as perceived by pre-driving adolescents

We examined pre-driving adolescents' opinions towards traffic accidents. 326 girls and boys from the ninth grade (ages 14-15) were asked to respond to open-ended questions concerning the causes of traffic accidents and possible interventions. Among the three most frequent reasons for traffic accidents was the driver's personal reasons, such as anger. The next was related to "the driver and the law," followed by driving under the influence of alcohol. With regard to ways for reducing traffic accidents, the most frequent response was that more information should be made available in the form of awareness raising, advertising, lectures and courses in schools and work place. High school was perceived by most participants as a place for promoting information and awareness. Girls generated significantly more answers than boys, and were more optimistic in the success of interventions to reduce traffic accidents.