Emotions, behaviour, and the adolescent driver: A literature review

Background: The intractable global road safety problem of the overrepresentation of young drivers in road crashes, despite a plethora of intervention, suggests that innovative approaches to understanding and thus intervening in road crash risks is required. The current research recognises that young drivers frequently are adolescents, and that adolescence is characterised by rapid physical, psychological, cognitive, and social development, each of which interacts with, contributes to, and is impacted upon by a wealth of negative, neutral and positive moods and emotions. The literature regarding relevant to adolescent drivers and emotions between 1 January 2005 and 30 September 2015 will be synthesise, in addition to posing future research questions regarding adolescents, emotions, and driving behaviour. Results: One hundred and three peer-reviewed articles were identified, and these were summarised within emotions and the adolescent (44 papers); emotions, the adolescent, and driving risks (23 papers); emotions, the adolescent, and risky driving behaviour (30 papers); and emotions, the adolescent, and road safety interventions (6 papers). The findings were synthesised within the context of the characteristics of the adolescent driver, their emotions, the driving context and their driving behaviour, including a pictorial representation of two temporal models depicting the sequence via which emotions can impact upon adolescent driving behaviour (Path A in which the adolescent driver experiences emotions after entering the car; Path B in which the adolescent experiences emotions before entering the car). Discussion and implications: The relatively recent proliferation of literature pertaining to adolescents, emotions, and their driving behaviour suggests that the breadth of research questions posed in relation to the domains of the adolescent driver, their emotions, the driving context, and their driving behaviour are timely. Indeed, recent applications of systems thinking within road safety, including young driver road safety specifically, maintain that a holistic approach to the understanding of who plays what role in this system that currently contributes to crash risks, and conversely can play a role in effective and efficient intervention, is essential before the real world realisation of a safe road system. Addressing these research questions are fundamental to sustaining progress on the path to young driver road crash prevention through a safe young driver road safety system. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.