Parent Focus Group Questions

Form Approved
OMB Control No. 0920-----
Expiration Date:-------

Parent Focus Group Questions

• Introduction of Focus Group

• Purpose

• Confidentiality of responses

Questions:

• How many teenagers do each of you have?

How old are they?

Boy or girl?

• What type of license do they have? (Learner’s permit, provisional license, full license)

• On average how frequently do your teens drive? (rarely, several times a week, every day)

• How would you describe your child’s driving ability/safety on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being outstanding?

• How would you describe your driving ability/safety on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being outstanding?

• How would you describe a “safe driver?”

• What do you believe are the riskiest things teens (in general) are likely to do as drivers?

• Have any of your children been involved in any type of car collision did they ever hit anything?) Please describe the circumstances.

• Have any of your children ever received a traffic citation or a warning for a moving violation? Please describe the circumstances.

• Compared to drugs, sexually transmitted disease, school violence, and other threats to your teens, how would you rate the risk of being killed or seriously injured in an automobile crash?

• How many of you were aware that car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens?

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 2 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.  An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.  Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: CDC/ATSDR Reports Clearance Officer; 1600 Clifton Road, MS D-74, Atlanta, GA 30333, ATTN: PRA (0920-----).

• Parent Interactions with Teen Drivers

• For those of you whose child has been involved in a crash, did you take any actions as a consequence of the crash? If so, what actions? If not, did you think of taking any action? Did your teen have to pay anything ( repairs, insurance increases)

• For those of you whose child has received a citation or warning, did you take any actions as a consequence? If so what actions? If not, did you think of taking any actions? Who paid the fine?

• For all of you, have you established any family rules about the driving privilege (use of seat belts, passengers)? Please describe.

• Probe for the following types of rules: seat belts, drinking and then driving, riding with a driver that has been drinking, allowing other teens in the car, driving curfew, leaving the car with an empty tank, speeding, running stop lights or any other traffic violations, etc.

• How have you communicated these rules to your child?

• Have you ever had to enforce those rules? Please describe the circumstances.

• Follow-up question for those who have not imposed rules

• Can you talk to me a little about why you have not imposed specific rules? Is it due to lack of time, lack of need, lack of information on what to impose, or something else?

• Has anyone ever heard of a “written driving contract” between parents and teen drivers?

• Follow-Up Questions:

• What have you heard?

• For those who have not heard about a driving contract – (or if no one has heard of it) a driving contract establishes very specific conditions under which a teen driver can maintain their driving privileges, what behaviors are forbidden, (e.g. failure to wear a seat belt, allowing other teens in the car, drinking, etc.) and what the consequences will be for breaking the contract. Is this something you would consider for your teen driver?

  • If not, why not?

• Has anyone created a driving contract for your teens?

• What has your experience been with the contract?

• An issue that comes up all the time with teen is riding with other new drivers. Have you ever spoken to your teen about this?

• If yes, what have you said?

• If no, why not?

• Have you established any specific rules about riding with another new driver? What type of rules?

  • Probe for rules: wearing a seat belt (even in the back seat), not riding when the number of passengers exceed a certain number, behaving appropriately in the car, only riding with drivers with a minimum amount of driving experience.

• How often do you talk to your children about their driving? What do you talk about?

• Have you ever been uncertain about what to tell your child about driving or what rules to establish? (e.g. how much experience before carrying passengers, driving in bad weather or on the Interstate, riding with a new driver)

• Is there any information or are there any tools that you would like to have to help you deal with driving issues that come up?

• Have you had serious conversations with your child about other serious threats (drugs, etc.)?

• How have those conversations gone?

• What do you think your child’s reaction would be if you started a serious talk about driving?

• Have you seen any media messages about teen driving? Can you tell me what they were about?

Knowledge of Graduated Licensing Provisions

• Have any of you heard the term Graduated Driver Licensing or Provisional Licensing? – (Show of hands)

• Can anyone explain what it is?

• Can anyone explain the specific licensing requirements in this state? (describe them if no one can explain them)

• What do you think about these regulations?

• Have you ever spoken with your children about these requirements?

• What do your teens think about graduated licensing?

• A key provision of most GDL laws is specifying the amount of time a new driver (someone with a learner’s permit) must practice driving with a parent or other adult before they can “go solo.” How much practice time with you did your teen have under their learner’s permit?

• Do you think that was enough time, too much time, or not enough time? Why do you think that?

• Do you believe the GDL restrictions are being enforced in your community?

• Are you enforcing these regulations with your children?

• Follow-up question for those who ARE enforcing the GDL requirements –

• Can you provide an example of how you have enforced the GDL requirements? What requirement and what did you do

• Follow-up question for those who ARE NOT enforcing the GDL requirements to determine reasons why not.

  • Can you tell me why you think you are not enforcing these requirements? Probe for possible replies –

    • I did not know enough about GDL

    • I rely on my child being able to drive

    • I trust my child and do not want “police” him (or her)

• Follow-up question if no one admits to not enforcing the GDL

  • Think about other parents of teen drivers you know, are they enforcing the GDL as far as you know?

  • Why do you think they are not enforcing GDL for their teen drivers?

Reaction to Creative Concepts

• As part of this CDC initiative, the sponsors of this focus group have developed some ideas to encourage parents to take a more active role in their children’s driving. I am going to distribute a packet of concepts to get your reaction to them. [Describe how the concepts will be used]

• First, on the worksheet please rank the concepts from 1 to 5 (with 5 representing the concept you like best and 1 representing the concept you like least.)

• I would like each of you to tell me which concept you liked best, what it meant to you and why you like it (follow-up question on reaction to the visual) (follow-up question – is there anything that could be improved on this concept?

• Next I want each of you to tell me which one you like least and why. (follow-up question on reaction to the visual) Is there anything that could be improved that would make you respond to it more positively?

• What do you think the primary message of each of these concepts is? (go through each concept)

• What actions are you supposed to take? (go through each of the concepts)

• Did anyone notice the website listed in the concepts?

• Why do you think that website is listed?

• What would you expect to find on this website?’

• How likely is it that someone like yourself would you visit that site after seeing materials like these? Why?

• For those who do not think someone would visit the site, is there anything that could be added to that site that would make it more likely for them to visit it?

• Final Thoughts

• How worried are you about your teens when they are driving?

• What do you think would help you feel more confident about your teen’s driving?