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

As you read the daily news, a familiar pattern begins to occur. You begin to notice the car crashes that happen at night with only one vehicle involved. Many times, these crashes involve teen drivers.

Is it your imagination? No.

Many typical characteristics of teen crashes are:

• Teens are more likely than any other age group to be involved in a single-car crash. Among passenger vehicle drivers' ages 16-19 involved in fatal crashes in 2008, 49 percent were involved in single-vehicle crashes. (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)


• Nighttime fatal crash rates for 16 year olds are nearly twice as high as daytime rates. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)


• In 2008, 37 percent of the 15- to 20-year-old male drivers who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash.

Nighttime driving not only diminishes a driver's visibility, but also their distance and speed perception, making it harder to judge a situation and respond quickly. Speeding decreases the time and space available to react and increases the severity of any injuries. Many times teenagers react too quickly and overcorrect or lose control of the vehicle, resulting in a single-vehicle crash. Drowsy driving is also more prevalent at night, and teens are especially vulnerable to fatigue and need additional sleep during this developmental time. In addition, other drivers on the road are more likely to be less attentive, drowsy or under the influence at night.

What can be done?

Create and enforce stricter Graduated Drivers Licensing (GDL) laws that give teens the privilege of driving but limit their exposure to higher risk situations encountered, by restricting nighttime driving, teen passengers and cell phone use. Experience behind the wheel is best gained in the daytime when accompanied by an experienced adult driver and under ideal driving conditions. GDL has proved successful in reducing crashes and fatalities among teen drivers as they progress to unrestricted driving at age 18.

Teens are ready to drive and need to be given the tools to drive safely. Understand the risk factors that young teen drivers face and place limits on driving privileges until they acquire the valuable experience needed to develop those tools safely.

Labels: drowsy driving, gdl laws, Graduated Driver Licensing, prevent drowsy driving, teen drivers, teen driving accidents

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

Two studies, one by Allstate Insurance Company and the other by Reader's Digest, indicate that geography plays a part in teens' risk of injury and death in motor vehicle crashes. And because of their age group, teens are already at great risk. The number one killer of American teens is motor vehicle crashes; one study shows that the problem is particularly serious in Florida. Every year, over 5,000 people aged 16-20 are killed in motor vehicle collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The ten riskiest cities out of the 50 largest urban areas in the US were selected using statistics from the national Census Bureau, federal crash data, and company claims information on teen passenger vehicle collisions. The most dangerous US cities for teen drivers are Southern, with the top three in Florida. Of the top 50 cities in the country for teen fatality crashes, Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Orlando/Kissimmee, and Jacksonville rank number one, two and three, respectively.

The analysis by Reader's Digest categorizes states according to their current Graduated Driver's Licensing (GDL), seat belt, and Driving Under the Influence (DUI) laws. According to the study, Alaska, California and Delaware rank as the top three; three of the worst states include North Dakota, Mississippi and Arkansas. Florida is categorized as "Fair," the next-to-lowest ranking. Interestingly, California cities also scored high in the Allstate study: San Francisco/Oakland, San Jose, and Los Angeles were numbers one, two, and four.

Factors that contribute to teen motor vehicle crashes include:

• Speeding/driving too fast for conditions -Driver distraction, including cell phone use and dealing with passengers -Inexperience -Driving at night -Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (including prescription and over-the-counter drugs)
  
  
• Teens also often neglect to wear their seat belts, increasing the risk of serious injury or death in a crash. An observational study by the Utah Department of Health found that the teen seat belt use rate falls when other high-risk factors are present, such as when teens drive under the influence of alcohol, drive at night, have multiple teen passengers, or are driving without a driver's license.

The risk factors listed above, including seat belt requirements, are addressed by GDL laws in many states. Before advancing to the next phase of licensure, young drivers must show progress by complying with specific restrictions. Driver education was a part of the curriculum in 90% of US high schools during the 1980s; in 2009, only 20% do. GDL laws are of increasing significance in the effort to reduce teen crash rates, because teens get most of their driver training from their parents and are often subject only to state requirements after licensure.

While a national model for GDL laws has existed since the mid-1990s, no state follows all of the requirements. To show the disparities among states, The National Safety Commission (TNSC) analyzed the GDL laws in four states: California, Florida, Mississippi, and North Dakota.

Labels: teen driver, teen drivers, teen driving, teens and distracted driving

Many teens are so excited to get their driver's licenses that much of the training they received prior to licensure is quickly forgotten. But it's important for new drivers to follow the fundamental rules of the road, and adapting speed to conditions is one rule that's frequently broken.

Driving too fast for conditions is considered speeding and can result in a traffic ticket. But that's not the only reason to slow down - driving too fast for conditions is a contributing cause of many motor vehicle crashes. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds (based on 2005 figures, which are the latest mortality data currently available from the National Center for Health Statistics).

A 2009 analysis of speeding-related crashes by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that following the speed limit is not enough to prevent a crash when conditions warrant a reduction in speed. The study showed that in speeding-related crashes that caused one or more injuries, 26% of the crashes were contributed to be exceeding the posted speed limit, while 74% were due to driving too fast for conditions. In property-damage-only crashes where speed was a contributing factor, 18% of the crashes were due to exceeding the posted speed limit and 82% of the crashes were contributed to by driving too fast for conditions.

Drivers should reduce their speed:
-immediately when it begins to rain. Roads become very slippery just after the rain begins, because the rainwater mixes with oil on the road that has been dropped from passing vehicles. Driving too fast on wet roads can result in skidding, when the vehicle loses traction with the road and the driver loses control of the vehicle.
-when roads are slippery due to snow or ice. Vehicles have even less traction on snowy or icy roads than they have in rainy weather. On icy roads, drivers should slow to a crawl and get off the road as soon as possible.
-in foggy or smoky conditions. Fog and smoke make it difficult to see ahead, and reducing speed reduces stopping distance.
-before a curve. Too often, drivers realize that they are moving too fast when they are already in the curve, but lowering speed in a curve results in a loss of traction that could cause a skid. Always reduce speed before entering the curve.
-in construction zones. Lower speed limits are usually posted in construction zones, but the new speed limit may not be low enough, especially for new drivers. The distraction of all the activity in the work zone and changes in the road surface can cause more difficulties for drivers who are inexperienced.
-around school zones and playgrounds. Again, lower speed limits are posted in school zones, but children are often present when the lowered limits are not in effect. Children are unpredictable and may walk, skate or bike into the road without checking for traffic.
-at night. Visibility is reduced at night; street lights and the vehicle's headlights cannot entirely make up for this.

It's also important to monitor your speed carefully on rural roadways with higher speed limits. Since the speed limit is already high, it's easy to drive too fast for conditions, which often include curves, animals, farm equipment, and roads that are not well-maintained.

Pressure from teen passengers should also be considered. Passengers may encourage the driver to travel at or above the speed limit. Resisting this pressure is an important exercise in maturity for teen drivers and is an integral part of keeping their driver's licenses. Unfortunately, it could even be a life-and-death matter.

Labels: driver training, speeding, teen drivers