Not too long ago Book Theory Test Today published a blog asking ‘if you had to choose, which parent would you want teaching you to drive?’ According to new research, having Mum in the car changes teen driving habits.
A new study shows that the presence of Mum in the car as a driving tutor helps teenage drivers to make safer decisions when on the road.
As part of the teen driving study, researchers designed a driving simulator test encouraging risk-taking behaviour. 25 teens were asked to complete the simulation in the quickest possible time.Â
The simulation featured 26 intersections giving teens the opportunity to stop for a yellow light, which would cause a three-second delay, or speed through the light – which was the fastest option, provided they didn’t crash. In the event of a crash, participants suffered a six second delay, which was added to their total time.
Teen driving and the presence of Mum
Participants were asked to complete the course once on their own and once under the watchful eye of mum.
Book Theory Test Today says: “Perhaps unsurprisingly, 55 percent of participants sped through the lights when driving on their own, but when mum was present this dropped by around 10 percent to 45 percent.â€
Eva Telzer, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois and lead author of the study, said: “We think that parents play an important scaffolding role, helping their children to make more thoughtful decisions.†Â
Researchers also discovered that the presence of mum altered the brain activity of teen drivers. When driving alone and running the yellow light, researchers noted a surge in blood flow to the brain’s reward centre, shown by MRI images. However, when driving with mum present, the reward centre lit up when they chose to stop at the light.
Previous teen driving research
In contrast to these latest results, previous research revealed that driving with peers could have the opposite effect on their decisions and brain activity. A 2011 study, which used the same teen driving simulation test, showed that teens were more likely to take a risk when friends were watching them drive.
The latest study also links the presence of mum with the heightened activity in the area of the brain responsible for impulse control. This was not affected when participants were asked to drive alone.
Telzer said: “Mothers redirected adolescents’ sense of reward away from risky choices and towards safe choices. In other words, it feels good to play it safe when mum is there, whereas it feels good to be risky when alone.â€
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