Driving Risk Interventions for Teens with ADHD

ADHD is a chronic, developmental disorder that begins in early childhood and often persists through adolescence and into adulthood. Driving is an important domain of activity in which most U.S. teens and adults engage. It can also be a life-threatening activity for both the driver and other drivers on the road.  Adolescence is the time of highest risk for driving. Evidence clearly demonstrates that ADHD in a teenager raises these normal risks for adverse outcomes considerably. They are more likely to drive before getting a license, to employ unsafe driving habits, to engage in greater risk-taking and other compulsive behavior, to be more inattentive and distractible while driving, and less likely to obey rules and manifest higher levels of road rage and aggressive use of the motor vehicle. Established and peer-reviewed interventions for driving-risk reductions for teens with ADHD  include medications, leveraging technology (e.g., performance monitors, cameras, and simulators) to provide direct feedback to teens and their parents, contingency management methods targeting safe driving behavior, contracting, and greater parental supervision, among others.