Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Wellesley, MA Teens Test Drive App to Block Texting

New phone app that blocks texting while driving shows promise... a least a step in the right direction...

Parents find it hard enough to pry computers, gaming systems, and Facebook away from teenagers so they can do their homework. But it’s getting even harder to keep cellphones out of teens' hands when they're driving.

Texting while driving has caused an increasing number of accidents, injuries and even deaths. Boston recently passed a law banning texting while driving, and other communities are considering similar bans.

In an effort to deter such behavior, Darcy Ahl, of Darien, Conn., partnered with Concord-based Illume Software to create a cellphone application that would eliminate the cellphone distraction.

They presented their application to a room of 15 students and parents at the Wellesley Free Library Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s a chronic situation. It’s a critical situation,” said CEO Dan Ross, a Newton native.

The application, called iZUP, turns off the cellphone when the vehicle is going over 5 miles-per-hour. 9-1-1 calls and three phone numbers are the only exceptions.

Source: Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/wellesley/2010/01/wellesley_teens_try_new_cell_p.html

More States Ban Texting While Driving

With the start of the new year, three more states have banned texting while driving, bring the total number of states which have made the practice illegal to 18. IMHO, it's good policy, both for teen drivers (likely the primary focus of the laws) and for adults as well.

Starting on New Year's Day (2010), Oregon, Illinois and New Hampshire joined 15 other states in enacting laws that ban texting while driving.

Of course, the laws seem to be aimed most directly at teen drivers, not only because of their inexperience behind the wheel but also because of their affection for digital devices. The combination of factors is a big problem.

A Pew Research Center study that found 34% of teens with cellphones say they have texted while driving.

Here are the states where the Governors Highway Safety Association says texting while driving is illegal:
Oregon
Illinois
New Hampshire
Alaska
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Louisiana
Maryland
Minnesota
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Utah
Virginia
Washington
...Plus the District of Columbia and Guam

Source: USA Today
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/01/three-more-states-enact-texting-while-driving-bans/1

U.S. Teens Ignore Laws Against Texting While Driving

Karen Cordova, a 17-year-old high school student and part-time supermarket cashier, admits she sometimes texts friends while driving home from work late at night, lonely and bored.

The Arizona teenager knows it's illegal in Phoenix and dangerous. She once almost drifted into oncoming traffic while looking at her phone.

But would a nationwide ban stop Cordova and her friends from texting in their cars? No way, she said.

"Nobody is going to listen," Cordova said.

With momentum building in Washington for all 50 U.S. states to outlaw text messaging behind the wheel, there is evidence that the key demographic targeted by such legislation, teen drivers, will not pay much attention.

At least one major study has found that, with mobile devices now central to their lives, young people often ignore laws against using cell phones or texting in the car. They know that it's hard for law enforcement to catch texters in the act.

"The handheld cell phone is relatively easy for us to spot, we can see when somebody has their phone up to their ear," California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Fran Clader said. "But with the texting it's a little bit more of a challenge to catch them in the act, because we have to see it and if they are holding it down in their lap it's going to be harder for us to see."

Cordova's classmate, 17-year-old Anna Hauer, says she often texts her boyfriend when she drives and doubts she or her friends would stop because of new legislation. "By the time they pull you over, the chances are you are going to be done with your text anyway so they can't exactly prove that you were texting," she said.

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BA0F920091211

A Third of Teens Say They've Texed While Driving

According to a new survey from Pew Internet, when it comes to texting while driving, the nut (teens) don't fall far from the tree (parents)...

A third of teens ages 16 and 17 say they have texted while driving and 48 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 say they have been in a car when the driver was texting, according to a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

While those findings may not surprise some, Pew senior research specialist Amanda Lenhart said she was surprised "to hear (from teens) about how it’s often parents or other adults who are doing the texting or talking and driving, and how for many teens, this is scary or worrisome behavior."

"Much of the public discussion around these behaviors has focused on teens as young, inexperienced drivers, but some of the adults in these young peoples' lives are clearly not setting the best example either," said Mary Madden, Pew senior research specialist who also worked on the survey.

"Teens spoke not only of adults texting at the wheel, but also fumbling with GPS devices and being distracted because they're talking on the phone constantly," she said. "And the reactions from the teens we spoke with ranged from being really scared by these behaviors to feeling as though it wasn't a big deal."

One teen boy quoted in the study said his dad "drives like he's drunk. His phone is just like sitting right in front of his face, and he puts his knees on the bottom of the steering wheel and tries to text."

Another boy, a middle-school student, was asked how often he is in "moving vehicle when the driver sends a text message." His answer? "All the time. My mom, sister or brother will sit behind the wheel the whole time and just text away."

Source: MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33920495/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

Driver's Ed Gets 21st-Century Update

New high-tech driving simulators are part of a new push to restore driver's education courses in public schools.

High school driver's ed was nearly universal 30 years ago. Today it is offered in only a fraction of schools in standard curriculum. About 15% of eligible students take high school driver's ed compared with 95% in the 1970s, says Allen Robinson, CEO of the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association, which represents about 50,000 public and private driver's ed teachers.

Driver's education in public schools, which virtually disappeared a generation ago, could be staging a comeback.

In the back of a second-floor classroom at West Forsyth High School, four students in driving simulators approach stop signs, heed the speed limit and confront the mysteries of four-way intersections.

The simulators — including three computer screens that comprise the windshield, a steering wheel, turn signals, foot pedals, an ignition and gear lever — assess students as they "drive" and score them at the end.

For many of these students, it's their first "behind the wheel" experience. "I think it's a good alternative to actually driving the real thing," says Travis Keeler, 15, a 10th-grader who's never driven. "It does a good job of preparing me to drive. These things are pretty strict. If you mess up, it's going to fail you, but you learn the rules of the road, what to do at intersections, things like that."

His teacher, Robert Fuller, says the simulators are a critical part of his semester-long driver's ed class, which is a half-credit elective and costs parents $100. "The simulator can't take the place of driving, but it … enhances their driving ability," he says.

Driver's ed in the modern era doesn't come cheaply. The simulators at West Forsyth High cost $18,000 each, says Van Flanigan, a vice president of manufacturer Virtual Driver Interactive.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-09-28-drivers-ed_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-09-28-driver-side_N.htm

Strict Rules From Parents Lead to Safer-Driving Teens

Two studies coming out in the journal Pediatric Friday show that parents have a big impact on the safety of teen drivers.

Parents who are actively involved in setting rules and boundaries, and following up on those rules, lead to safer drivers. Teens who say their parents are actively involved cut their risk of drinking and driving by 70%, are half as likely to speed and 30% less likely to use a cellphone. And kids who don't have access to their "own" car — they have to ask for the keys — are half as likely to get into a crash.

"The real message of this paper is that parents matter," says Ken Ginsburg, associate professor of pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and author of one of the papers. "If you take this seriously and you are an active parent that gives appropriate rules and appropriate boundaries combined with warmth and support, you can actually make a tremendous difference here."

Ginsburg says parents who are most effective at curbing bad driving behavior are those who enforce strict rules, but in a kind way. Parents need to send a message that they are looking out for their teen's safety, and give them opportunities to earn more privileges as their driving skills progress.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-09-24-safer-driving-teens_N.htm

Parents Set Poor Example for Teen Drivers

Parents in the United States are setting a poor example behind the wheel for their teenaged children by talking and texting on cell phones and speeding.

Nearly 60 percent of 500 parents with teenage children questioned in an online survey admitted that they chatted on their cells while driving. Forty-two percent said they were guilty of speeding and 17 percent sent a text or email.

Another 40 percent listened to loud music while driving.

"Teens get safe driving examples and advice from many sources -- television ads, driving instructors, friends and family members, but no one more than Mom or Dad," Dave Melton, a driving safety expert with the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, said in a statement.

"And if they grow up watching their Mom or Dad speed, talk on their cell phone, text and email, or pay more attention to what's on the radio than their driving, they are going to think it's okay to do the same thing."

Fathers were the worst culprits for setting a bad example behind the wheel in the poll commissioned by insurance group Liberty Mutual, with 75 percent admitting to at least two dangerous driving behaviors, compared to 63 percent of mothers.

Men were also less likely than women to discuss safe driving with their children.

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE58A3Y120090911

Ford's MyKey Adds Safety for Teen Drivers - Controls Speed, Stereo

Andrew Sarkisian says he finds inspiration in other people's lives, but raising two teenage girls may be more inspiration than he's willing to admit.

Sarkisian, safety manager at Ford Motor, is considered the father of MyKey, a new technology to help parents control some of their teen drivers' behaviors. Ford is rolling it out on several models this year.

MyKey lets parents configure one key as the teen's. When the car is started with MyKey, top speed can be limited to 80 mph, and chimes can be set to sound at 45 mph, 55 mph and 65 mph.

Seat belt use is encouraged in two ways: If the driver and passenger don't put on their belts, a chime sounds until they do. Possibly more important to teens: The audio system won't turn on until the front two passengers are buckled up.

It can also max out the audio at half volume (which is still plenty loud), keep track of the young driver's mileage and provide earlier low-fuel warnings than standard.

MyKey will become standard on most Ford (F) models; it's available now on a dozen, including Taurus, Focus and Escape SUV.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-08-31-ford-mykey-safety_N.htm

Study: Risk of Crash While Texting Is 23 Times Higher

More new research is being released on the dangers of using cell phones while driving. This new study recommends banning cell phone use by teen drivers.

Newly compiled results from more than six million miles of observed driving suggest that it's the act of taking one's eyes off the road, more than the cognitive distraction of talking or listening on the phone, that's most dangerous.

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study included data—all gathered 'naturalistically,' meaning via camera systems and instruments in real-world driving—for dialing a cellphone, talking/listening to a cellphone, and reaching for an object. That data was also gathered for both light-vehicle drivers and truck drivers, where text messaging was included.

According to the findings, dialing was 2.8 times as risky as non-distracted driving, while talking/listening and reaching for an object were 1.3 and 1.4 times as risky, respectively. The real shocker was text messaging; for the truck drivers, texting brought 23.2 times the risk of a crash or near-crash event. The research showed that text messaging brought the driver's eyes away from the road for the longest time of all the tasks; for the trucker, it was the equivalent of covering the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking at the road, the researchers said.

Among the recommendations from the VTTI researchers are that texting should be banned for all drivers; that users migrate to voice-activated hands-free systems to that they don't have to take their eyes off the road; and that all cellphone use should be banned for teen drivers.

Source: TheCarConnection.com
http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1022490_study-risk-of-crash-while-texting-is-23-times-higher

Texting And Driving Worse Than Drinking and Driving

Car and Driver Magazine recently released results of driving tests that observed braking reaction times for drivers when texting and reading texts and compared them to those when the drivers were legally drunk. The results revealed drivers had worse reaction times when texting and reading than when drunk.

Admit it.

You've done it.

You've been driving down the side street (and yes, the highway as well) when your phone, blackberry, or whatever you use to call and text with goes off.

You immediately grab it, even though you are driving in traffic and really shouldn't.

It's a dangerous and terrible habit American drivers have developed.

The folks at Car and Driver Magazine have now documented just dangerous it can be.

Rigging a car with a red light to alert drivers when to brake, the magazine tested how long it takes to hit the brake when sober, when legally drunk at .08, when reading and e-mail, and when sending a text. The results are scary. Driving 70 miles per hour on a deserted air strip Car and Driver editor Eddie Alterman was slower and slower reacting and braking when e-mailing and texting.

The results:

Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake
Legally drunk: add 4 feet
Reading e-mail: add 36 feet
Sending a text: add 70 feet

Source: CNBC
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31545004/site/14081545