About Driving Distractions

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About Driving Distractions
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Teen Driving is a Risky Business

• Teen drivers have the highest
• crash risk of any age group.
• Per mile traveled, they are
• involved in the highest number
• of crashes resulting in property
• damage, injury, and fatalities.

But why are teen drivers such a risk?
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Why a Risk?

• Limited driving experience
• It has been proven that experience behind
  the wheel (with parents or driving
  independently) decreases the probability that a
  new driver will be involved in a crash
• Crash risk diminishes with each month of
  driving for the first year.
• Mental and emotional maturity
• Studies show teens think differently
  because the maturity of their brain
• lessens their ability to identify the
  consequences of high-risk behaviors
• The part of the brain responsible for planning,
  organizing, and
• anticipating consequences is not
  fully developed. Long term memory
• required to make quick decisions has not been
  developed.
• How many seconds do drivers typically have
  to make a decision to avoid a crash?

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Facts for Teen Drivers

• From 1996 until 2006, approximately 4,200 teen
  drivers were killed every year and almost ten
  times that amount required treatment in an
  emergency room. Those numbers seem to be
  decreasing with the implementation of GDL.
• For every teen driver fatality, an average of two
  other deaths are caused by passengers or people
  in other vehicles.
• Passengers increase the risk of a crash and the
  risk
• increases with the number of teen passengers.
• A teen is far more likely to crash than older
  drivers.
• The first few months of driving independently are
  the
• most dangerous.
• Teen males average one and a half times the death
  rate than females.
• Summer is the deadliest time of the year for
  teens to drive and most teen crashes occur
  between 3PM and Midnight.

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So, what is a Driving Distraction?

• Any activity that takes your eyes and
  attention from the roadeven for a moment
• Texting or talking on a cell phone while driving
• Passengerseven if the driver is not involved in
  the conversation
• Anger with other motorists or personal situation
• Concentrating on a problem or project from work
  or school
• Talking with passengers over a shoulder or
  through a rear view mirror
• Portable music player with an ear piece
• Eating and/or drinking while driving
• Adjusting vehicle settingsradio, CDs, etc.
• And two other top driving distractions?

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New technology creates problems.

• Cell phones create high-contributing factors
  resulting in a crash.
• Sighttexting require the driver to take their
  eyes from the road, other drivers, and traffic
  signs.
• Soundlistening to a voice minimizes the drivers
  ability to recognize sounds that warn of an
  emergency vehicle, braking of another vehicle,
  etc.
• Touchtaking one or both hands off the steering
  wheel to execute a dialing function.
• Thoughtconversations occupy the thinking process
  rather than concentrating on driving.
• State Legislatures are gradually adopting
  restrictions on
  cell phone use for teens under the age of 18
  while driving.

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Using a cell phone

• How can you safely use a cell phone while
  driving?
• Cell phones are to be used only in an emergency
  while you are driving. If you need to make a
  call, pull over in a safe and lighted area where
  you feel safe.
• When a cell phone rings, let it go to voice
  message and return the call when you are not
  driving.
• Ask passengers using their cell phones to talk
  quietly. Talking on a cell phone with others in a
  confined space can be distracting, annoying and
  rude.

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Passengers have a responsibility, too!

• Data and studies confirm that the risk of a teen
  crash increases when a driver has passengers.
• Do not distract the driver with noise or
  conversation while they are driving.
• Dont get into a car with a driver who you
  suspect has been drinking, even if it seems to be
  your only ride home.
• Avoid riding with someone you do not know who may
  have unsafe driving practices.
• Dont ride with friends you know to have bad
  driving habits.
• Dont encourage the driver to speed or race.
• Always wear a seat belt.
• Dont be afraid to ask the driver to slow down if
  you think they are driving too fast for
  conditions.

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Taking anger out on other drivers?

• Taking anger out on others is a big temptation
  and distraction
• when driving because you are dealing with someone
  you
• dont know.
• Take a deep breath. Put angry conversations and
  mental distractions on hold when you get behind
  the wheel.
• Keep your mind on driving and avoid solving
  problems while you are behind the wheel.
• Avoid letting off steam in your vehicle with
  aggressive driving or road rage.
• Do not respond to other drivers who are driving
  aggressively and avoid eye contact.

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But I am hungry!

• Eating while driving creates a very
  dangerous situation.
• Eating while driving requires taking at least one
  hand off of the steering wheel putting drivers at
  higher risk.
• Dropping food or spilling drinks can take your
  eyes off the road and cause a response that
  affects the ability to control the vehicle.
• Choking on food is always a riskespecially if
  there are passengers creating the opportunity to
  talk and laugh.
• Eat before you leave or when you get there!

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Distractions are personal.

• Take a personal inventory of driving activities
  creating distractions that you have seen or
  practiced and answer the following questions
  honestly
• Can it wait?
• Is it necessary?
• Is it worth loosing my life or injuring the lives
  of my friends and family?

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Driving is A Privilege

• and it begins at home
• Evaluate the right time to begin the driving
  experience
• Establish a written contract between parents and
  teens
• Discuss the consequences for failing to meet the
  driving agreement
• Provide incentives for good driving practices
• Develop mutual trust and respect
• State Farm provides families with the Steer
  Clear Drivers Program for driving insurance
  discounts and Safe Driver Pledge. For more
  information, contact a local State Farm agent or
  visit www.statefarm.com .
• Resources for Ready2Drive National Highway
  Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA),
  Center for Disease Control (CDC), State Farm
  Steer Clear Drivers Program, Childrens
  Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Safe America
  Foundation