Safe Teen Driving Blog

The journal Pediatrics recently published a study that showed that teens who report having their own vehicles (vehicles they don't share with other family members) are more than twice as likely to have been involved in a recent motor vehicle collision. The study, a survey of 2,167 teens by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, indicated that teens who have their own vehicles are also much more likely to participate in other risky driving behaviors, such as using a cell phone and speeding.

Why might this be? According to driver safety experts, the following aspects of teens having vehicles for their sole use are potential contributors to the higher motor vehicle collision rate:

• The teen is more likely to have selected their own vehicle: Meaning a small, sporty car; high-powered, easily maneuverable vehicles tempt teens to drive faster and take more chances behind the wheel, such as weaving in and out of traffic.


• More driving time: When teens share a vehicle with other family members, they simply aren't on the road as much. Teens who must return the vehicle by a certain hour so another family member can use it have a natural curfew that limits time on the road. While more driving time might make a teen driver more comfortable behind the wheel, she or he is not necessarily more skilled at driving. A false sense of confidence can lead teen drivers to take risks on the road.


• Extra freedom: When teens don't have to request the keys, they quickly fall into the habit of driving whenever and wherever they want, and parents just as quickly get used to the freedom of not having to give rides to boisterous teens and their friends. This means that teens take more frequent trips, in addition to staying out longer.


• More passengers: Teens who don't have to share their vehicles with their parents gain status amongst their friends because they can offer transportation to those who don't have access to family vehicles. More time in the vehicle with teen passengers means trouble - teen passengers make driving much more risky for teen drivers.

Statistically, it's safer for your teen to share a family vehicle rather than having one of their own. For parents who still intend to buy their teens their own vehicles, traffic safety professionals offer the following guidelines:

• Choose the vehicle carefully; research your options thoroughly. Teen drivers need stable, midsize vehicles with all the safety features you can afford. Frankly, if your teen is happy with your selection, it's a sign that you may need to reevaluate your options and choose a different vehicle.


• Make sure your teen adheres to the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws in your state. If your state doesn't impose time limitations for teen drivers, create your own as part of your house rules. Match the number of hours your teen is allowed to drive to the level of responsibility and maturity she or he exhibits.


• Don't allow your teen to equate having her or his own vehicle to having unrestricted driving time. Set limits on the frequency and purpose for driving trips. Accompany your teen on trips in their vehicle occasionally and observe their driving behavior carefully, watching for any bad driving habits they may have picked up while driving alone.


• Use GDL laws and the number of safety belts in your car to determine the maximum number of passengers your teen is allowed to have in the vehicle.

Check frequently to make sure your teen is complying with your restrictions. Review your cell phone bill to ensure that your teen is not making calls when she or he is typically behind the wheel. Any deviation from the rules should result in restricted (or removed) driving privileges for a specified period of time. If teens aren't following the ground rules for use of the vehicle, parents need to penalize them by taking the keys away and acting as chauffeurs for a time.

Labels: motor vehicle collisions, motor vehicle crashes, teen car accidents, teen drivers

The tragedy occurred on the last day before summer vacation. An SUV transporting a group of teens to the beach rolled over after a tire blowout. In the aftermath, four teens died, four were hospitalized, and the teen driver faced criminal charges.

Almost everyone knows a distressing story like this one; deaths of teens due to motor vehicle crashes are often well-publicized amid great community sympathy for the loss of young lives and the potential they held, as well as the devastation of surviving parents and friends. And they speak to a larger statistical reality - that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds, according to the National Center for Health Statistics - that much of America seems to be both aware of, but unsure of how to change.

Consider the following statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

There were 202.8 million licensed drivers in the United States in 2006 (2007 data not available). Young drivers between 15 and 20 years old accounted for 6.4 percent (13.0 million) of the total, a 7.2-percent increase from the 12.1 million young drivers in 1996.

In 2007, 13 percent (6,982) of all drivers involved in fatal crashes (55,681) were young drivers age 15 to 20 years old, and 15 percent (1,631,000) of all drivers involved in police-reported crashes (10,524,000) were young drivers.

In 2007, 3,174 15- to 20-year-old drivers were killed and an additional 252,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes.

Among 15- to 20-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2007, 31 percent of the drivers who were killed had been drinking.

In 2007, 64 percent of the young drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes who had been drinking were unrestrained. Of the young drivers who had been drinking and were killed in crashes, 75 percent were unrestrained. -During 2007, 35 percent of the motorcycle riders between 15 and 20 years old who were fatally injured in crashes were not wearing helmets.

In addition to mistakes made while driving, teens are susceptible to other lapses in judgment concerning motor vehicles that can lead to injury or death, such as car surfing. According to Science Daily, the states with the highest car-surfing fatality rates are California, Florida, and Texas; all three states have shown an increase in car-surfing deaths since 2000.

Though these three states show high levels of risky teen behavior concerning motor vehicles, a study conducted by Allstate Insurance Company indicated that rural areas have much higher rates of fatal motor vehicle crashes involving teen drivers than metropolitan areas; consequently, states with large rural areas have the highest rates of fatal crashes involving teen drivers. These states are:

• Mississippi


• Alabama


• Kentucky


• Missouri


• Arkansas

Nationally, Allstate's research showed, fatal crash rates for teens were more than twice as high in rural areas than in metropolitan areas.

While considerable attention is paid to the issue of drunk driving among teens, law enforcement agencies report that speeding is the leading cause of motor vehicle crashes involving teen drivers. Allstate's study found that law enforcement identified speeding as a factor in 34% of motor crashes nationwide, while alcohol was cited in just 12% of crashes.

In addition to the risk teens take when driving or when riding in a vehicle with other teens, teens suffer when a member of their peer group dies in a motor vehicle crash, particularly when they suffer multiple losses from crashes such as the example at the beginning of this article. Because of the feeling of invincibility that is characteristic of this age group, teens typically have not considered the deaths of people their age a possibility, so when such a thing occurs, their world may seem to be crashing down around them. This means that even teens who were not particularly close to the person who died can be stunned by their reaction to it. Due to their level of psychological maturity, teens are ill-equipped to understand the grieving process and may be overwhelmed by feelings of being out-of-control, insecure, and scared, in addition to sorrow and grief. They may descend into melancholy that lasts years, greatly affecting their development. Some teens numb their feelings by participating in high-risk activities such as:

• Alcohol and drug abuse


• Reckless sexual activity


• Withdrawal from family and friends


• Taking risks involving motor vehicles

Depending on the loss, some teens experience a change in their circle of friends. Obviously, this can have positive or negative results, but regardless, it is another change in a rapidly changing world for the teen. Teens who lose friends to death may see their grades drop and their focus change as they struggle to fit into a new group of friends at a time when they feel especially vulnerable.

Parents and other authority figures can help teens channel their grief in healthier ways by:

• Being available to listen - not, necessarily, to talk


• Allowing teens the freedom to process their grief with others, such as friends, extended family, and professional counselors


• Encouraging teens to express themselves through writing, drawing, and memorializing their deceased friends


• Realizing that the teens' mourning process may be prolonged and letting teens know that there is no timetable for grief

Though the federal government, state governments, and community-based organizations are making efforts to reduce the number of teens who die in motor vehicle crashes, the statistics above indicate that there is still much work to be done. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia have three-stage Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs in which restricted licenses are issued to beginning teen drivers, with the restrictions reduced over time. However, no state has incorporated all of the GDL components recommended by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the National Transportation Safety Board, and NHTSA.

State-level programs that include peer-to-peer teaching and learning about driver safety are effective in reducing teen motor vehicle crash rates. Texas' Teens in the Driver Seat is one such program; teen crash deaths have dropped 32% and the number of teen drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes is down 33% since the program began. A similar program in Illinois called Operation Teen Safe Driving has helped achieve a 10% reduction in teen motor vehicle fatalities in Illinois during the first seven months of 2009. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and other advocacy groups sponsor many public education campaigns to persuade teens not to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Labels: car surfing, motor vehicle crashes, parent teen driving, teen car accidents, teen drivers, teen driving accidents

Car crashes are the number one killer of American teens, and the primary cause of fatal teen crashes is driver error. Driver distraction is included in the broad category of driver error. Though not every distracted teen driver is involved in a crash, distraction increases the risk of either causing a collision or being unable to avoid one. And though distracted driving is a problem for any driver, it is of special concern for inexperienced drivers, who may be distracted more easily and for longer periods of time and who may have difficulty controlling the vehicle even under normal conditions.

Modern diversions such as cell phones and other technical equipment are simply additions to traditional distractions such as eating, reading, dealing with passengers, reaching for objects, and looking at things or people outside of the vehicle. Dealing with passengers is one of the most frequently reported causes of distracted driving, and lively teen passengers can be particularly distracting to new drivers. Distracted driving is nothing new, but educational efforts to combat it are increasing.

It's important to realize that when you're driving, you're already multitasking, because you are:
-Trying to control a large machine at high speed
-Responding to the driving environment, including road and weather conditions, other traffic, and road signs and signals
-Reacting to changing conditions, such as other drivers pulling out in front of you and pedestrians crossing the road ahead

Adding another task to this list might be just enough to make you lose control of your vehicle or fail to act in time to prevent a collision.

The following tips will help prevent distracted driving:
-Increase your awareness of both physical and mental distractions. Physical distractions occur when you take your hands off the wheel and/or your eyes off the road. They happen when you adjust your stereo, take a drink of water, or reach for an object that has fallen on the floor. Mental distractions are sometimes more difficult to identify, because they don't necessarily interfere with the physical act of driving. They occur when you argue or even laugh with a passenger, receive surprising or interesting news on your cell phone, or are preoccupied with a problem at school or work.
-Minimize the need for adjusting controls while you are driving. Take a few moments to prepare for your trip when you enter the vehicle. Adjust the seat position, climate control, stereo, and other devices before you leave your driveway or parking spot. If you are driving an unfamiliar vehicle, spend a few extra seconds locating the controls so you won't need to look for them while you are driving.
-Review driving directions and maps, enter your destination into your navigation system and check traffic conditions before you leave. If you have a passenger, she or he can act as your navigator. Avoid sudden stop and turns while on the road by pulling over in a safe place, off the road and away from traffic, if you get confused or lost.
-Pull over to a safe place, off the road and away from traffic, to talk on the phone, text message or email. Using hands-free equipment is not safe enough because of the likelihood of mental distraction. Turn the phone off before you start out to reduce temptation.
-Stop at restaurants to eat or drink. Unwrapping food and condiment packages, reaching into bags, and having greasy fingertips are physical distractions. Realizing that you got the wrong sandwich is a mental distraction that is difficult to correct once you've left a drive-through window. Spilling coffee on your new shirt qualifies as both a physical and a mental distraction. Reduce your risk of a crash and your stress level by taking a few minutes to enjoy your meal outside of your vehicle.
-Keep in mind that your vehicle's mirrors exist to help you view traffic, not yourself. Don't use them for personal grooming while the vehicle is in motion.

As a driver, your only task when you enter your vehicle is to arrive safely at your destination. Anything else can be taken care of when you arrive. As a new driver, begin developing good habits right away by avoiding distractions and concentrating on your driving.

Labels: teen car accidents, teens and distracted driving