Associations of road and visual environment characteristics with speeding behaviors among high risk teen drivers.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Associations of road and visual environment characteristics with speeding behaviors among high risk teen drivers.
Authors: Kar, Armita1,2 (AUTHOR), Miller, Harvey J.3,4 (AUTHOR), Alshaikh, Enas2 (AUTHOR), Williams, Nicole3 (AUTHOR), Recker, Robyn2,5 (AUTHOR), Yang, Jingzhen1,2,6 (AUTHOR) Ginger.Yang@nationwidechildrens.org
Source: Journal of Safety Research. Jun2026, Vol. 97, p174-182. 9p.
Subjects: Automobile speed, Automobile driver education, Public spaces, Landscapes, Automobile drivers, Traffic safety, Road construction, Express highways
Abstract: • Among teens, the odds of speeding are higher on high-speed roads, and open, low-to-moderately dense visual environments. • Overall teen speeding rates were higher on low-speed roads and high-density, built-up urban environments. • Our findings highlight the need to include road design awareness in driver training to reduce teen speeding. Introduction: Traffic crashes are the leading cause of injury and death among U.S. teenagers. While research has mainly focused on teen driver-related factors, the influence of road design and visual environments on risky driving behaviors like speeding remains understudied. This study examined associations of road and visual environment characteristics with speeding behavior among teen drivers aged 16 and 17 who received a traffic citation. Methods: We collected driving data via GPS-based vehicle telematics devices. We merged the driving data, recorded at 2-minute intervals for two months, for each driver, with Google Street View images. We applied semantic segmentation to characterize the visual environment of roads driven by teens. We used zero-inflated negative binomial regressions to identify the road and visual environment characteristics associated with increased risks of speeding events and rates per 1000 miles driven. Results: Of 18,679 roads observed, 1,705 (9%) encountered one or more speeding events. The odds of speeding events were higher on interstates (Odds Ratio [OR] = 436, 95% CI: 289.77, 656.75) and freeways (OR = 750, 95% CI: 452.37, 1243.77) than on local roads. Regarding visual environments, the odds of speeding events were 1.69, 3.04, and 2.60 times higher in open-road, open residential, and leafy residential environments, respectively, than in built-up urban spaces. Despite higher odds, the speeding rates on interstates, freeways, open-road, and residential environments were lower compared to local roads and built-up urban spaces, partly because approximately half of all driving occurred on these types of roads and visual environments. Conclusion and Practical Application: Among teens with a history of traffic citations, driving on high-speed roads and in open, low- to moderately dense environments is associated with an increased risk of speeding events. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating awareness of different road designs into future driver training programs to mitigate speeding behaviors among teens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Safety Research is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 194574383
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Associations of road and visual environment characteristics with speeding behaviors among high risk teen drivers.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kar%2C+Armita%22">Kar, Armita</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Miller%2C+Harvey+J%2E%22">Miller, Harvey J.</searchLink><relatesTo>3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Alshaikh%2C+Enas%22">Alshaikh, Enas</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Williams%2C+Nicole%22">Williams, Nicole</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Recker%2C+Robyn%22">Recker, Robyn</searchLink><relatesTo>2,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yang%2C+Jingzhen%22">Yang, Jingzhen</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,6</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> Ginger.Yang@nationwidechildrens.org</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Safety+Research%22">Journal of Safety Research</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 97, p174-182. 9p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Automobile+speed%22">Automobile speed</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Automobile+driver+education%22">Automobile driver education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+spaces%22">Public spaces</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Landscapes%22">Landscapes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Automobile+drivers%22">Automobile drivers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Traffic+safety%22">Traffic safety</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Road+construction%22">Road construction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Express+highways%22">Express highways</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: • Among teens, the odds of speeding are higher on high-speed roads, and open, low-to-moderately dense visual environments. • Overall teen speeding rates were higher on low-speed roads and high-density, built-up urban environments. • Our findings highlight the need to include road design awareness in driver training to reduce teen speeding. Introduction: Traffic crashes are the leading cause of injury and death among U.S. teenagers. While research has mainly focused on teen driver-related factors, the influence of road design and visual environments on risky driving behaviors like speeding remains understudied. This study examined associations of road and visual environment characteristics with speeding behavior among teen drivers aged 16 and 17 who received a traffic citation. Methods: We collected driving data via GPS-based vehicle telematics devices. We merged the driving data, recorded at 2-minute intervals for two months, for each driver, with Google Street View images. We applied semantic segmentation to characterize the visual environment of roads driven by teens. We used zero-inflated negative binomial regressions to identify the road and visual environment characteristics associated with increased risks of speeding events and rates per 1000 miles driven. Results: Of 18,679 roads observed, 1,705 (9%) encountered one or more speeding events. The odds of speeding events were higher on interstates (Odds Ratio [OR] = 436, 95% CI: 289.77, 656.75) and freeways (OR = 750, 95% CI: 452.37, 1243.77) than on local roads. Regarding visual environments, the odds of speeding events were 1.69, 3.04, and 2.60 times higher in open-road, open residential, and leafy residential environments, respectively, than in built-up urban spaces. Despite higher odds, the speeding rates on interstates, freeways, open-road, and residential environments were lower compared to local roads and built-up urban spaces, partly because approximately half of all driving occurred on these types of roads and visual environments. Conclusion and Practical Application: Among teens with a history of traffic citations, driving on high-speed roads and in open, low- to moderately dense environments is associated with an increased risk of speeding events. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating awareness of different road designs into future driver training programs to mitigate speeding behaviors among teens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Safety Research is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=194574383
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.jsr.2026.02.010
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 9
        StartPage: 174
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Automobile speed
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Automobile driver education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public spaces
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Landscapes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Automobile drivers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Traffic safety
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Road construction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Express highways
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Associations of road and visual environment characteristics with speeding behaviors among high risk teen drivers.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Kar, Armita
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Miller, Harvey J.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Alshaikh, Enas
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Williams, Nicole
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Recker, Robyn
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yang, Jingzhen
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 00224375
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 97
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Safety Research
              Type: main
ResultId 1