Help Make Your Teen A Safe Driver

Good parents want their children to be able to tackle all of life’s challenges. Learning to drive is among the most important of those challenges. Parents need to play an active role in the process.

Talk to your teen early and often. Discuss the risks and responsibilities of driving when kids are young – and keep talking to them before, during and after the licensing process to ensure they learn successful, safe driving skills. Give these discussions the same priority as you would discussions about smoking, sex or drugs.

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Don’t rush things. Just because your teen has a permit or license it doesn’t mean they’re ready for every driving condition. Practice with them in empty parking lots or on side streets. Practice at night, in traffic and in adverse weather conditions. Keep in mind that if they do have an accident, it might not be their fault. The fact is, our brains are still developing through the teenage years and don’t reach full maturity until our 20s.

Make sure you’re familiar with your state’s laws (they’ve probably changed since you learned to drive). Many states have enacted laws to help new drivers get on-the-road driving experience under lower-risk conditions, protecting them while they are learning. Know what your state’s requirements are and establish your own rules for when, where, how and with whom your teen may drive.

Practice what you preach. If you speed, roll through stop signs, make rude gestures at other drivers or chat on your cell phone behind the wheel, your teen is likely to do the same.

Source: Allstate.com

Teen Driving Facts

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group.1 In 2005, twelve teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.

How big is the problem, and what are the costs?

• In the United States during 2005, 4,544 teens ages 16 to 19 died of injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes. In the same year, nearly 400,000 motor vehicle occupants in this age group sustained nonfatal injuries that required treatment in an emergency department. Overall, in 2005, teenagers accounted for 10 percent of the U.S. population and 12 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths.
• Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.

Who is most at risk?

• The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.
• Among teen drivers, those at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes are:
• Males: In 2005, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was more than one and a half times that of their female counterparts.
• Teens driving with teen passengers: The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with the number of teen passengers.
• Newly licensed teens: Crash risk is particularly high during the first year that teenagers are eligible to drive.

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What are the major risk factors?

• Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations.
• Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and allow shorter headways (the distance from the front of one vehicle to the front of the next). The presence of male teenage passengers increases the likelihood of this risky driving behavior.
• Among male drivers between 15 and 20 years of age who were involved in fatal crashes in 2005, 38% were speeding at the time of the crash and 24% had been drinking.
• Compared with other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use. In 2005, 10% of high school students reported they rarely or never wear seat belts when riding with someone else.  In a national survey of seat belt use among high school students:
• Male high school students (12.5%) were more likely than female students (7.8%) to rarely or never wear seat belts.
• African-American students (13.4%) and Hispanic students (10.6%) were more likely than white students (9.4%) to rarely or never wear seat belts.
• At all levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), the risk of involvement in a motor vehicle crash is greater for teens than for older drivers.
• In 2005, 23% of drivers ages 15 to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had a BAC of 0.08 g/dl or higher.
• In a national survey conducted in 2005, nearly three out of ten teens reported that, within the previous month, they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol. One in ten reported having driven after drinking alcohol within the same one-month period.
• In 2005, three out of four teen drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes after drinking and driving were not wearing a seat belt.
• In 2005, half of teen deaths from motor vehicle crashes occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight and 54% occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

How can motor vehicle injuries be prevented?

• There are proven methods to helping teens become safer drivers. Research suggests that the most comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) programs are associated with reductions of 38% and 40% in fatal and injury crashes, respectively, among 16-year-old drivers.
• Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are designed to delay full licensure while allowing teens to get their initial driving experience under low-risk conditions. For more information about GDL systems, see the Teens Behind the Wheel: Graduated Drivers Licensing fact sheet.
• When parents know their state’s GDL laws, they can help enforce the laws and, in effect, help keep their teen drivers safe.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html

Rookie Driver Brand New Driver Signs | New Driver Magnets Granted Trademarks

RookieDriver.Net, a leading online provider of teen driving safety products recently acquired federal trademarks for their new driver signs and new driver magnets symbol which are placed on cars as a safety precaution.

Since 2006, the ‘branded’ symbol has helped identify new drivers when they begin driving with their parents on a learners permit. The new driver signs are now registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, nationally designated to help alert other drivers in all 50 states that there is a new teen driver behind the wheel of a car with their parents.

The new driver symbol was created to increase awareness towards inexperienced drivers and it is the first standardized national symbol to recognize new drivers. The new driver car magnets provide a national ‘branded’ solution to identifying a new driver’s vehicle and this allows experienced drivers in every state to quickly identify the symbol and anticipate common new driver mistakes.

The new driver signs were created in 2006 by a mother, Corinne Fortenbacher, and her 15 year-old son Austin in an effort to help reduce accidents and to bring national attention to the issue of teen driving safety, the leading cause of death for young people in the U.S.

Most states have implemented longer graduated drivers license programs that allow more time for parents to drive with their children during the learners permit phase. Supervised parent involvement with extended learning time proves to reduce exposure to high-risk situations, according to safety experts.

Until now, one of the most overlooked components in improving new teen driver safety has been identifying their cars with nationally standardized New Driver signs. Inexperience is the leading cause of teen driving accidents. By increasing awareness of new drivers, parents can help minimize traffic related deaths and injuries.

Why NOT to Use Student Driver Signs or Student Driver Magnets

RookieDriver.Net, a leading online provider of teen driving safety information, has been granted registered trademarks for the company’s ‘Rookie Driver’ and ‘Rookie Driver In Training’ auto magnets, for use as nationally recognized symbols to alert OTHER drivers that inexperienced new teen drivers are driving with their parants on a learners permit.

Created in 2006 by Corinne Fortenbacher and her 15 year-old son Austin, the unique car magnet symbols are the only new driver alert products to be granted federally registered trademarks for this category. They’re bringing national media attention to the issue of teen driving safety because more needs to be done to prevent teen crashes, the leading cause of death for young people in the U.S.

Fortenbacher cautions that many parents use student driver signs or student driver magnets on their cars, AFTER their teen has completed drivers training, while driving with their new teen drivers on their learners permit. This can give other drivers a false sense of security by assuming the ’student driver’ is accompanied by a certified student driver teacher in a dual-brake vehicle.

Fortenbacher says the “Branded” rookie driver symbols have the potential to dramatically increase awareness towards inexperienced drivers, while driving with their parents on their learners permit, because they are the first standardized national symbols to recognize new drivers, while driving with their parents. The symbols are in use in all 50 states.

Fortenbacher says that inexperience is the leading cause of teen driving accidents. One of the most overlooked components in improving safety is simply identifying the new driver’s car with a standardized magnetic symbol that alerts other drivers that there is a novice driver behind the wheel. This allows experienced drivers to anticipate common new driver mistakes.

We’re entering the ‘danger season’ for teenage drivers

This past weekend marked the beginning of summer for many schoolchildren. It also is the start of the most dangerous time of year for young people on the nation’s roads.

States have done just about everything they can to try to improve the traffic safety record among teens; Now it’s up to teens and their families and friends to do even more.

The statistics don’t lie. Drivers age 16 to 20 account for more highway deaths than any other 5-year age group, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data, and the death rate is worst during the summer months — when teens are driving and playing more than during school.

The problem is compounded by the fact that teen drivers and their passengers also are the least likely to use seat belts.

And it doesn’t help that the inexperienced drivers in this age group also are most likely to be distracted — by friends and by cell phones, especially.

Most states require that a 15-year-old who has completed basic driver’s education requirements must then spend 50 hours over the next six months driving with a parent or guardian, 10 of those hours at night.

During this superviser learning program parents can improve their teens new driving experience by identifying the vehicle the teen is driving with a “Rookie Driver” or a “New Driver” magnet. Simple to use, just place the magnet on the car when the teen is driving (along with the parent) and take the magnets off when the parents are driving.

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With successful completion of that six-month period, young drivers can receive restricted licenses.

As this summer gets into full swing, it would be a good time for parents to sit their teenagers down for an important talk about safety and the rules that should accompany the privilege — and it is a privilege, not a right — of newfound four-wheeled freedom.

Youth and Driving Don’t Always Mix Safely

Teen drivers are more likely than adults to crash their car, due to their youth and inexperience — but don’t try telling them that.

Studies have found that teens have an overblown sense of their driving prowess, one that can and does put them in the middle of some truly terrible crashes. They also don’t understand that distractions such as cell phones and teenage passengers can make driving more dangerous.

“Kids tend to judge their experience on getting a license,” said Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburg of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “The truth is that getting a driver’s license is the very first step to gaining experience.”

It’s an established fact that young drivers crash more often than older drivers, and with worse consequences. People between 15 and 24 years old represent just 14 percent of the United States population, but they account for 30 percent of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28 percent among females, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2005, 4,544 teens ages 16 to 19 died of injuries incurred in crashes, the CDC says. That same year, nearly 400,000 teenage passengers or drivers of vehicles involved in crashes sustained injuries severe enough to require treatment in an emergency department.

“A new driver at any age is going to have a higher crash rate, but with teenagers, you’re combining that experience deficit with immaturity and risk-taking,” said Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Ginsburg headed a study that asked high-school students their opinions of a number of risky driving situations. Sixty percent of the students said that driving experience was very important, but only 15 percent said they had ridden with inexperienced drivers.

Most of the kids in Ginsburg’s study didn’t understand that cell phones could be a distraction to a driver. They also didn’t realize that having other teenage passengers in the car posed a safety risk — a troubling statistic given that two of every three teen drivers surveyed said they often traveled with teen passengers.

“Passengers for older drivers can be neutral or even beneficial, but when teen drivers have teen passengers, they are more likely to crash,” McCartt said. “That’s likely due to distraction passengers bring to the vehicle, and an increased propensity to take risks.”

Another study, this one in Canada, found that high-school students tend to harbor mistaken beliefs that lead them to underestimate the risks of driving. The teens in that study believed that:

Their youth and agility make them better able than more experienced drivers to overcome poor driving conditions or intoxication.
Vehicle problems and highway design are more likely than human error to cause crashes.
If they were in a crash, doctors would be able to save their lives and bring them completely back to normal.
But the study did contain some bits of good news as well. Teenagers seemed to understand that drinking and driving were a bad mix, Ginsburg said.

“Substances are used by a relatively few kids, because they’ve heard that message, and they get what the risk is,” he said. “On the other hand, having passengers in the car and talking on cell phones happens more frequently, and they’re all distractions.”

Ginsburg said that parents need to take a role in disabusing their kids of wrong notions about driving.

“Parents matter,” he said. “Parents are the ones in charge of making sure kids follow restrictions and graduated driving laws. The challenge is for parents to make clear that these restrictions aren’t about control, they’re about safety, and they come from a place of love.”

McCartt’s group has recommended a tougher solution: Raise the driving age to 17 or 18. She points to New Jersey, which is the only state that issues licenses at 17 and which has a consistently lower rate of teen deaths in car crashes than its neighboring states.

“Teen drivers are not good at even identifying whether something’s risky or not,” McCartt said. “The evidence from New Jersey suggests other states would benefit substantially from increasing the age at which teens get their license.”

Source: HealthDay News ScoutNews, LLC.

Teen Driver Safety Facts and Tips

Did you know:

Car crashes are the number one cause of teen deaths each year; more than drugs, violence or suicide.

According to national statistics car crashes account for more than 1 out of 3 teen deaths.

Drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 are four more times likely than older drivers to crash.

Research shows that male teens are at 1.5 times more risk than their female counterparts.

At most risk are teen drivers with teen passengers and the risk increases with the number of teen passengers.

Most teen crashes are due to driver error caused by inexperience and distraction.

Crash risk is particularly high during the first 12 months that a teen is eligible to drive.

Compared to other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seatbelt use.

In 2005, 23% of drivers ages 15 – 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had a blood alcohol content of 0.08 g/dl or higher.

In 2005, 54% of the teen deaths from motor vehicle crashes occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

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Teen Driver Safety Tips:

Know your teens passengers and encourage them to help your teen driver by reducing distractions and wearing seatbelts.

Know the rules; review your states new driver booklet with your teen driver. Look online for your local DMV materials.

Be a good role model for your teen driver and talk about driving safety strategies with your teen.

If you can afford it, definitely pay for extra driver training.

Emphasize the risks and inherent dangers of drinking or drugs and driving. Offer to always come and rescue with no consequences.

Select a safe car for your teen.

Ride periodically with your teen driver to keep tabs on progress and reinforce solid driving habits.

Driving is a privilege not a right; have your teen share in the costs of operating the vehicle to teach responsibility, which might translate into better driving skills.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online].

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Dept. of Transportation (US). Traffic safety facts 2005: young drivers.

National Survey of Parents` and Teens` Driving Concerns Show Technology May Be the Answer

NEW YORK–Along with so many other things in contemporary life, the answer to the classic question, “Can I borrow the car, Dad?” may be redefined by the technology revolution.

A new national survey of teen driving issues conducted on an independent basis on behalf of Personal GPS Locator company Zoombak™ (www.Zoombak.com) by StrategyOne, a leading market research firm, shows that parents and teenagers have widely divergent reactions once the teens obtain their driver’s licenses:

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More than eight in ten teenagers (83%) feel happy about the event, compared to just over three in ten of their parents (32%).
Moreover, nearly six in ten parents (57%) are worried about the safety of their teen, while only one in ten teens are thinking about his or her own safety.

Key to helping parents overcome their concerns is knowing where their teens are. Nearly two-thirds (64%) worry about the whereabouts of their teens once they’re out on the road. Teenagers, for their part, understand the concern; 79% say that their parents worry about them when they drive. However, two-thirds of all teen drivers agree with the statement, “I wish there were a way to get my parents to trust me more” when they’re behind the wheel.

In order for parents to feel more comfortable as their teens head out on their own in an automobile, more than four out of five (81%) ask their teenagers to keep them informed of their whereabouts, e.g., by checking in by phone when they arrive at their destination. They also insist on practice driving with parents in the car (59%), curfews (53%) and passenger limits (51%).

Only 17% of all parents currently use technology to monitor the vehicle their teen is driving. What many don’t realize, however, is that affordable GPS devices are available that can instantly tell them where their vehicles are, whether they’ve left a pre-defined geographic area, that they’ve arrived safely at a destination, even what route the vehicle has travelled over the past 60 minutes. Such technology may, in fact, satisfy new teen drivers’ number one wish for their parents—“Give me more freedom” (53%)—by allowing them to earn their parents’ confidence.

Unlimited On-Demand GPS Device

“Zoombak is in the business of helping individuals and families take advantage of the power of global positioning technology to improve their lives,” said Simon Buckingham, CEO of Zoombak, the U.S. market leader in personal locator products. “GPS is both accurate and suitable for a huge array of uses—including building trust between teen drivers and their parents.”

When placed in a vehicle, Zoombak’s automobile tracking product, the Advanced GPS Car & Family Locator, can provide on-demand information about a vehicle’s whereabouts. By logging in to Zoombak’s password-protected Web site, for example, real-time location data can be displayed on a map, along with the closest street address. Similar information can be delivered via text message to a parent’s cell phone.

Other ways of monitoring vehicle movement are also available via the Zoombak locator. Personalized “safety zones” can be established around ten different locations; when the car enters or leaves an active zone, parents can be instantly alerted via email or text message with location information. Safety zones can be active simultaneously or in any combination, and can be scheduled for 24/7 use or “turned on” or “turned off” during certain hours of day or night.

Zoombak’s GPS locator can be hardwired to a car’s battery using a separate install kit, and also comes with a car charger. When used portably the unit has a battery life of up to five days.

The StrategyOne nationwide study of 300 new teen drivers and parents of new teen drivers entitled “Teen Drivers and Parents: Where Are The Road Bumps?” was conducted online in July, 2008. Teens were 16-17 years of age with driving licenses or permits, and adults were screened for parents of teens 16-17 years of age with driving licenses or permits. Equal numbers of females and males were obtained for both segments, and reflected U.S. census statistics for ethnicity, region and education.

About Zoombak:

Zoombak LLC, develops and markets advanced products and technologies that keep people connected to the people and things that really matter. Zoombak’s compact, assisted (A-GPS) locator system employs satellite-enabled GPS and a location network server to track teen and senior drivers, recover stolen vehicles, and find lost pets, among other purposes. A U.S.-based company, Zoombak is a privately held subsidiary of Liberty Media, which owns a broad range of electronic retailing, media, communications and entertainment businesses. For more information, please see www.zoombak.com or www.libertymedia.com.

Source: http://www.theautochannel.com

Arkansas House Approves New Young Driver Restrictions

The Arkansas House on Wednesday approved new restrictions for young drivers after a debate that sharply divided rural and urban lawmakers.

Lawmakers voted 58-35 in favor of the bill by Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, who a day earlier tearfully urged a legislative committee to back the plan. Jeffress, a retired school teacher from Crossett, told lawmakers that keeping teens off the road late at night and restricting the number of passengers they can have will save lives and prevent injuries.

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Jeffress’ bill sets restrictions for 16-year-old and 17-year-old drivers. The measure now goes back to the Senate for consideration of an amendment. “This is by far the most dangerous time of a driver’s lifetime,” said Rep. Gene Shelby, D-Hot Springs, the House sponsor of the bill.

The bill bans motorists under 18 from driving between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. except for work, school or emergencies. It also prohibits the young drivers from having more than one passenger who is not a family member. But rural lawmakers, like Rep. David Dunn of Forrest City, said carpooling is often necessary for teens and children to get to school and other activities.
“I just think we’re out of bounds and I think we’ll have a horrible time enforcing this,” said Dunn, a Democrat.

But backers of the bill argued that the measure puts in place an important tool for parents — a law to keep their teens off the road late at night and from driving around with a carful of friends. “Driving is a privilege, not a right,” said Rep. Allen Kerr, R-Little Rock. “And yes, it’s our job as parents to administer that privilege, but there (are) an awful lot of parents out there that need help.”

Source: JILL ZEMAN, AP
Wed Mar 04, 2009, 04:40 PM CST

AAA study says teen drivers kill others more than they kill themselves

The majority of people killed in teen driver crashes continue to be people other than teen drivers themselves, according to an updated analysis of 10 years of crash data by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The analysis shows that about one-third of people killed in crashes involving drivers ages 15 to 17 are teen drivers themselves. Nearly two-thirds are passengers, occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users.

“For every teen driver killed in a crash, almost twice as many other people die, which underscores the link between teen driver safety and the safety of everyone on the road,” said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet.

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Nationally, between 1998 and 2007, crashes involving 15-, 16- and 17-year-old drivers killed 28,138 people, of whom 10,388 (36.9%) were teen drivers themselves. The remaining 17,750 (63.1%) deaths included 8,829 passengers of the teen drivers, 6,858 occupants of other vehicles operated by adult drivers, and 2,063 non-motorists and others. A previous analysis in 2006 found that between 1995 and 2004, crashes involving 15-, 16- and 17-year-old drivers claimed the lives of 30,917 people, of whom 36.2 percent were teen drivers themselves and 63.6 percent were others.

“Young drivers face an array of potentially deadly challenges at the wheel,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. “Parents and teens need to understand the serious responsibility of driving and the risks and consequences involved.”

AAA points to the drop in both teen driver deaths and the larger drop in deaths of others during the last decade as evidence that improving teen driver safety benefits all road users.

“During the last decade, as states improved their teen licensing systems and AAA has helped parents get more involved, we have seen reductions in teen driver deaths and even larger reductions in the number of other people killed,” said Darbelnet. “Clearly, measures put into place to save teen drivers help us all.”

AAA continues to call for comprehensive graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems that let new teen drivers gain experience under less-risky conditions. States with comprehensive GDL systems have been shown to reduce deaths among 16-year-old drivers by 38 percent. Forty-nine state GDL systems fall short of AAA guidelines.

AAA also encourages parents to play the leading role in developing their teen driver through regular dialogue, selecting a quality driving school, using a parent-teen driving agreement, extensive practice driving, and choosing a safe vehicle for their teen.

 

Source:  WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/