These Tips Could Save Your Teen Driver’s Life

I found this article today at http://shermanoaks.patch.com and wanted to share it with by blog readers. It is a very great and powerful article about teen drivers!

Traffic accidents are the major cause of teen deaths. Parents who serve as good role models for a young driver can help prevent a tragedy.

For first responders, it’s a scene that has become all too commonplace. One moment an entire family is driving home from a local outing and just blocks from their residence. In the next moment, they’re involved in a horrific traffic accident that either completely or nearly kills the entire family.

After firefighters work feverishly, using the Jaws of Life to pry apart steel wrapped around steel, to get to the injured parties, they often find out that the accident involved a teenage driver. And many of those teen drivers become fatalities as well.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2009 there was a total of 3,081 fatal traffic accidents (these are the latest stats) on California’s highways. Of those, 351 involved drivers between the ages of 16 and 20. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers and young drivers in this age bracket across the nation, and the causes are many, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles:

* Unsafe speed: 35 percent.

* Not yielding the right of way: 20 percent.

* Improper turns: 15 percent.

* Alcohol-related: 5 percent.

An ever increasing statistical bracket is distracted drivers (texting, cell-phone usage, other teens in the car).

In a huge proportion of cases, these fatalities are preventable because they involve unnecessary risk taking, not wearing seat belts and lack of skill. The risk of accidents is three times higher when driving at night and 3.6 times higher when other passengers are in the car.

Although overall statistics for teen-related traffic deaths are down, many of the habits that our teen drivers learn begin at home. As parents, we have more influence than we sometimes know. So these tips, accompanied by some strong parenting, can help make your teen’s driving experience a little safer:

1) Never expect that your teen driver is going to learn everything from driver’s training courses. They need practice, and lots of it! Schedule times for them to drive, first in unpopulated areas, and then when you’re comfortable, heavier traffic areas.

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2) The fruit never falls far from the tree. If you drive like an idiot, then what do you expect from your teen? They need a strong role model who can explain, not only how, but why you do the things you do. Use a lot of teachable moments.

3) Always insist on using seat belts at all times! This is something that should be taught to them almost from birth. Remember, “Click It or Ticket.”

4) Limit nighttime driving and additional passengers in the car. You know when your teen driver is ready to take on more responsibility. There’s no rush to drive at night.

5) “Take this phone and shove it!” Need I say more? Put them in the trunk, keep them in the back seat, and remove any temptation to text or talk on the phone. And you can’t keep constantly calling them to ask their whereabouts if this tip is going to work.

6) Drinking and driving is a no-brainer. It’s unacceptable and should be subject to severe consequences if the law doesn’t have its way with your teen first

Cell Phone Use While Driving……

is pervasive, according to reports from teen respondents of the National Young Driver Survey.

1. 80% of teen drivers own a cell phone.

2. Nine out of 10 have witnessed teen drivers talking on a cell phone; seven out of 10 sometimes see emotionally upset teens drive while talking on a cell phone.

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3. 53% have seen teens use another kind of handheld device (text messaging, MP3 player, or game) while driving.

4. 48% reported talking on the phone while driving.

Summer is a Dangerous Time for Teen Drivers

This coming weekend will mark 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, now is 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.

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

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.

Are You Worried Now That Your Teen Is Driving? “When it comes to ‘New-Driver’ and ‘Student Driver’ car magnets, Rookie Driver products are the Preferred Choice of New Teen Drivers”
CLICK HERE to see.

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.

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 http://www.zoombak.com or http://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/

Fewer teen driving deaths in ’08 In Illinois

Teen driving deaths in Illinois dropped by more than 40 percent in the first full year of the state’s graduated driver licensing law.

In 2007, 155 teenagers ages 16 to 19 were killed in automobile crashes. In 2008, 92 teens died in crashes, according to Secretary of State Jesse White.

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“I am pleased that this law is working as we intended,” White said in a press release. “The goal all along was to save lives. When I first convened the Teen Driver Safety Task Force nearly three years ago, we knew we had our work cut out for us. We knew that automobile crashes were the leading cause of death for teens.

“We worked hard and put together one of the best (graduated drivers license) programs in the nation. While too many teens are still dying on our roads, we can take some solace in the fact that 63 fewer teens died in crashes last year.”

White made the announcement at a press conference at Taft High School in Chicago, where he presented a Teen Driving Safety Award to principal Arthur Tarvardian and driver education instructor Mike Hionis for Taft’s outstanding driver education program. White emphasized the important roles parents, high schools and driver education instructors play in preparing safe and responsible teen drivers.

“We have formed a partnership between the secretary of state’s office, parents, schools and driver education instructors,” said White. “Working together, we are saving lives and making our roads safer for all of us.”

Illinois law gives teens more time to obtain valuable driving experience while under the eye of a parent or guardian, limits in-car distractions and requires teens to earn their way from one stage to the next by avoiding traffic convictions. State and national traffic safety organizations have praised the law as one of the best in the nation.

“The good news that 40 percent fewer teens died on Illinois roadways in 2008 speaks volumes about the benefits of a strong GDL program,” said Judith Lee Stone, president of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, based in Washington, D.C. “I commend Secretary White for his efforts. Even considering reductions in driving due to the economic downturn, credit for saving lives can easily be given to recent improvements in Illinois laws that phase in full driving privileges for beginning teen drivers. Every state in the nation should follow Illinois’ example by passing and enforcing strong, effective teen driving laws.”

Source: http://mywebtimes.com