Feds Want Data on First-Year Young Drivers
Published Date: 5/26/2026
Notice
Summary
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to study how new drivers under 21 behave during their first year of driving. They’re asking the public to share thoughts before they get official approval to collect this info. If you know or are a young driver, this study could help make roads safer, and comments are due by July 27, 2026.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 2 mixed.
Who the study will recruit
You could be asked to take part if you are a newly-licensed driver either younger than 17 (born 2010 or later) or age 18 to 20 (born 2006 through 2008). The study will follow participants for the first 12 months of independent driving in State(s) that do not apply Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) rules to novices 18 and older.
Time burden and opportunity cost
If you enroll, you will spend time on study tasks: a 2-minute screening, a 10-minute informed consent briefing, a baseline session (30 minutes if smartphone-only; 270 minutes if vehicle equipment is installed), up to 84 minutes of in-study questionnaires, and a 2-minute final questionnaire (or 242 minutes for the vehicle-DAS subgroup). The study estimates a total annual burden of 2,574 hours and an estimated opportunity cost of $110,378 across all respondents.
Participant payments available
If you take part, you will be paid: $220 for participants assigned to the smartphone data-collection group and $340 for participants assigned to the smartphone plus vehicle data-collection group.
What driving data the study will collect
If you participate, the study will collect naturalistic driving data for 12 months using a smartphone-based data acquisition system (GPS and accelerometer) for all participants, and for a subgroup will also install an in-vehicle system that collects video, vehicle bus data, and sensor data. Participants will also complete surveys and a hazard perception test during the study.
Travel needs and estimated travel cost
A subgroup of participants (n = 225) who receive the vehicle data-collection equipment will need to travel to a study location twice and are expected to travel up to 40 miles total; using the IRS mileage rate of $0.725 per mile this is estimated as up to $29 in transportation costs per participant. The agency estimates total participant travel costs related to these visits of no more than $2,175 annually ($6,525 total).
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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