Who We Are

We offer a free resource for parents of teen drivers

Injuries from motor vehicle crashes are among the top causes of death for teens in the United States1. The main reason driving is more dangerous for teens, is that they are young and not experienced at driving unsupervised.

Many parents struggle with the decision about when to let their teen start driving unsupervised. Checkpoints™ helps parents know how to keep their teens as safe as possible when they are not in the vehicle with them.

Checkpoints aims to help parents by:

  • Giving parents facts about teen driving safety and risks
  • Showing them things they can do to make their teen’s driving safer
  • Giving them an interactive Parent-Teen Driving Agreement so they can set clear guidelines for their teen’s early driving and make changes as their teen progresses

Checkpoints history

Checkpoints was developed by Dr. Bruce Simons-Morton of the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The program has been shown to be effective with parents and teens in several U.S. states.2,3,4

Checkpoints was adapted as a website by a team at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, led by Dr. Jean Shope, with support from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The site is now maintained by the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center.

Through our partners, the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center has received valuable input in the development of the Checkpoints website. These partnerships include the State of Tennessee, the State of Michigan, the University of Kentucky, and the City of Austin, Texas.

References

  1. Mortality Data, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC WONDER
  2. Effectiveness of a brief parent-directed teen driver safety intervention (Checkpoints) delivered by driver education instructors
  3. The effects of the checkpoints program on parent-imposed driving limits and crash outcomes among Connecticut novice teen drivers at 6-months post-licensure
  4. The effect on teen driving outcomes of the Checkpoints Program in a state-wide trial
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