Teens and Distracted Driving

Introduction 80% of crashes and 65% of near crashes involved some sort of driver distraction. Teens are 4x more likely to be in a wreck then drivers over age 30. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for year olds. 5,500 fatalities annually. 450,000 injuries annually. 14% of all deaths due to motor vehicle accidents involve a teenage driver. 53% of the time teen driver deaths occur on weekends.

Survey Survey Please answer Yes or No on your responders. Have you ever spoken on a cell phone while driving? Have you ever sent text messages while driving? Have you ever had a conversation with a friend while driving? Do you listen to the radio while driving? Do you adjust the station on your radio or change the CD while driving? Do you drive when you are tired? Do you eat and drive? Girls – do you put on makeup while driving? Do you have a GPS system that you use while driving? Do you listen to your iPod while driving?

DWT: Driving while texting How many of you would consider writing a paper or watching a movie on your laptop while driving? Texters in the US sent 158 billion messages last year. Up 95% from % of teens admit to texting while driving The average teen takes their eyes off of the road 10% of the time. That jumps to 40% when a teen is texting while driving Texting means a 400% increase in the amount of time that your eyes are off the road. 140% increase in lane violations while texting. Many states are now banning texting while driving. Fines for violating these laws were as high as $101 per text in some states.

Driving While Using Your Cell Phone Talking on your cell phone while driving is the most common distraction drivers face. In many states it is already illegal for teenagers and adults to use their cell phones while driving. In a recent survey, 73% of drivers surveyed admitted to using their cell phones while driving. Drivers who use their cell phones while driving are 4x more likely to be in an accident.

DWE: Driving while eating What do you think the Top 10 most dangerous foods to eat in the car are? 10 – Chocolate. Whatever you touch gets sticky, driver’s instinctive reactions are to clean and that is distracting. 9 – Soft Drinks. Open containers can cause a lack of driver concentration when spilled. 8 – Jelly and Cream Filled Doughnuts. Drivers become more focused on the messy jelly oozing out than driving. 7 – Fried Chicken. Greasy hands are a distraction as driver’s try to clean them. Plus, grease is almost impossible to clean off of a steering wheel. 6 – BBQ. BBQ sauce is messy. You should remember “If it can drip don’t eat it while driving.”

Driving While Eating, continued 5 – Hamburgers. Dripping condiments, special sauces and greasy meat distract drivers as they drip out of the bun and onto your shirt. The $5 Hamburger becomes $500 - $5,000 worth of repairs. 4 – Chili. Anything containing chili such as a chili dog is dangerous. Steering chili to your mouth while steering your car requires more dexterity than humans possess. 3 – Tacos. This food can disassemble itself. One good road bump and the seat of your car looks like a salad bar. 2 – Hot Soups. Eating soup while driving is like attempting a juggling act. 1 – Coffee. Coffee spills are the worst because drivers try to make immediate cleanup while still driving. Hot coffee can also cause serious burns that divert a driver’s focus away from the road and onto their scalded legs.

Sleepy Driving

Sleepy Driving… 100,000 reported crashes per year as a result of drowsiness. 1,500 of them result in deaths. 55% of those crashes were caused by drivers under the age of 25. Some states are requiring that sleep deprived drivers that cause accidents that kill someone be charged with vehicular homicide. Fall asleep for 2.5 seconds going 70 MPH and you just traveled the length of a football field while sleeping. Being awake for 18 hours has the same effect on your driving as being legally drunk.

How Tired is Too Tired?: Are you at risk for a sleepy driving crash? Factors to consider. 6 Hours of sleep or less triples your risk. Pull over and take a nap if you: –1. Have trouble keeping your eyes open. –2. Are frequently blinking or yawning. –3. Are feeling restless or irritable. –4. Are having trouble remembering the last few miles you’ve driven.

Driving While Impaired

Driving While Impaired… 28% of drivers age that were in accidents had been drinking. 39% of all fatal crashes involved alcohol. During the last 30 days, 28.5% of high school students admitted to riding in a car driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol. Driving while impaired slows your reaction time. If you are driving while impaired it can end up on your permanent record. That affects your ability to go to college, your ability to get financial aid or scholarships for college, your ability to get a job and your ability to get your own car insurance as an adult.

Distracted Driving: Changing the Radio, Talking to your Friends, Putting on Makeup, etc. Driver inattention is the leading factor in crashes. 45% of teen drivers killed in car accidents have a friend in the car with them. Changing the radio, talking to your friends and/or putting on makeup etc. all take your attention off the road. Inattention is a huge risk factor for accidents.

Distraction Activity Can you really pay attention while distracted? Let’s find out.

Discussion Results – Analysis – Conclusion – How can we become more attentive drivers?

Wrap-up Reducing or eliminating as many distractions as possible can reduce your risk of being in a motor vehicle accident. The person calling your cell phone can wait, the radio doesn’t need to be changed until you reach a stop light, your makeup looks great, and you can catch up with your friends when you arrive at your destination.

Don’t become a statistic.