Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Most Teens Still Driving While Distracted

Nearly nine in 10 teenage drivers have engaged in distracted-driving behaviors such as texting or talking on a cellphone although most of them know that their actions increase their risk of crashing, a new survey finds.

The survey by Seventeen magazine and auto club AAA highlights the difficulty of the nation's efforts to stop texting while driving, especially among young drivers.

"Teens do continue to drive distracted even when they recognize the dangers," says William Van Tassel, manager of AAA's driver training programs. "Driving is the first real adult responsibility, but let's face it, they're still teens whose brains aren't fully developed."

The online survey of 1,999 teens ages 16-19, conducted in May and made public today, found that 84% were aware that distracted-driving behaviors increase their crash risk; yet 86% have engaged in those behaviors, including texting and talking on cellphones, eating, adjusting radios, driving with four or more passengers and applying makeup.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-02-teendrivers02_ST_N.htm

Teen Driver Risks In High Gear Over Summer

As summer officially starts, teenage drivers across the USA are poised to enjoy school-free days, summer jobs and youthful frolics.

Their parents might be less eager. Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the USA, and the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day is the deadliest for drivers ages 15-20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Traffic safety experts attribute the higher fatality rate to youths having more free time under less parental supervision, more opportunities to drive at night, when road risks are higher, and relaxed curfews.

"For many kids, every day in the summer is a weekend day," says Justin McNaull, state relations director for auto club AAA. "There's less parental supervision in the daytime because Mom and Dad are at work. In the evening, curfews get slid back, and they spend more time on purposeless trips, which are more dangerous. Driving with your buddies to find a party at 10 p.m. is very different from driving to school at 7 a.m. on a weekday. There's a very different environment both outside and inside the vehicle."

To counter this reality, states and highway safety officials try to reach young drivers before the end of the school year and remind them — and their parents — to exercise extreme caution while on summer break.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-20-teendrivingsafety_N.htm

Texting While Driving More Common Among Adults Than Teens

Adults are guilty of the dangerous activity of texting while driving more often than teenagers, according to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The Pew study also revealed that adults are substantially more likely to talk on a cell phone while driving than teenagers.

According to the study half (47 percent) of all adults who text have done it while driving. That compares with 34 percent of teens (aged 16 to 17) who text. The survey revealed that 74 percent of adults that own cell phones have talked while driving, while just over half (52 percent) of teens with phones have talked while behind the wheel.

Source: PCWorld
http://www.pcworld.com/article/199323/texting_while_driving_more_common_among_adults_than_teens.html

Early School Start Times Raise Risk of Teen Car Crashes

Starting the school day earlier may lead to more car accidents involving teenagers, new research suggests.

The study, which looked at schools in two cities in Virginia with different start times, found an association between earlier classes and more crashes among sleep-deprived students.

"Teenagers need over nine hours sleep a night, and it looks like a large number of teens don't get sufficient sleep... part of that relates to the time that high schools begin," said study author Dr. Robert Vorona, an associate professor of internal medicine in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va.

"There are data that demonstrate that lack of sleep has negative consequences for teens," he said. "And some data show that younger drivers are more likely to have crashes when they have inadequate sleep."

The study compared crash rates in 2008 for high school students with widely varying school starting times in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, two adjacent cities with similar demographics. Virginia Beach's classes started at 7:20 a.m.; Chesapeake's began at 8:40 a.m.

While the overall accident rate for all drivers was higher in Virginia Beach, the difference between teens in the two cities was stark, Vorona said. Chesapeake had 46.2 crashes for every 1,000 teen drivers, compared to 65.4 per 1,000 teen drivers in Virginia Beach -- a 41 percent difference.

Teens are "biologically programmed" to get sleepy and wake up later than adults, said Barbara Phillips, of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, a professor with the school's division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. "They truly can't help it. They're just not going to get sleepy at 10 p.m., so it's hard for them to get the eight to 10 hours of sleep they need to get when they have to catch the 7:30 bus."

Phillips is co-author of a study that compared car crash rates and increased sleep for adolescent drivers in Lexington, Ky., when the school district instituted a later school day in 1998. Data were analyzed from the two years before and after the change.

The study found that when teens increased their sleep, crash rates declined 16.5 percent during a period when teen crash rates throughout the state increased by 7.8 percent.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/sleep/articles/2010/06/09/early-school-start-times-raise-risk-of-teen-car-crashes.html

CDC Study: 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results

Since 1991, The U.S. Center for Disease Control has surveyed teens every two years in order to identify trends in risky adolescent behaviors. The results of the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey have just been released.

First, let's look at the percentages on some of the areas surveyed:

• Have had at least one drink of alcohol (during their life): 72.5%, down from 75% in 2007.
• Have had at least one drink within 30 days of the survey: 41.8%, down from 44.7% in 2007.
• Have had five or more drinks within a few hours, within 30 days of survey: 24.2%, down from 26% in '07.

• Have used marijuana at least once (during their life): 36.8%, down from 38.1% in 2007.
• Have used marijuana at least once within 30 days of the survey: 20.8%, up from 19.7% in 2007.

• Have tried cigarette smoking (during their life): 46.3%, down from 50.3% in 2007.
• Have smoked cigarettes at least once within 30 days of the survey: 19.5%, down from 20% in 2007.

• Have had sexual intercourse (during their life): 46%, down from 47.8% in 2007.
• Have had sexual intercourse with 4 or more persons (during their life): 13.8%, down from 14.9% in '07.
• Have had sexual intercourse within 30 days of the survey: 34.2%, down from 35% in 2007.
• Drank alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse: 61.1%, down from 61.5% in 2007.

• Seriously considered attempting suicide during 12 months before survey: 13.8%, down from 14.5% in '07.
• Made a plan about how they would attempt suicide during 12 mos before survey: 10.9% down from 11.3% in '07.
• Attempted suicide during 12 mos before survey: 6.3%, down from 6.9% in 2007.

• Rarely or never wore a seat belt: 9.7%, down from 11.1% in 2007.
• Rode with a driver who had been drinking within 30 days of survey: 28.3%, down from 29.1% in 2007.
• Drove when drinking alcohol within 30 days of survey: 9.7%, down from 10.5% in 2007.

While on the surface it appears that there are broad, although slight decreases in at-risk behaviors, the study indicates that in terms of trends, most changes are statistically insignificant, amounting to "no change." The areas noted above where changes in trends were indicated were:

• Have had at least one drink within 30 days of the survey - decrease
• Have tried cigarette smoking (during their life) - decrease

To view the extensive overview of the report, click the source link below.

Source: CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/us_overview_yrbs.pdf

What Kills Teens?

A new report out from the National Center for Health Statistics finds that in the period of 1999-2006, of the more than 16,000 teenagers that die annually, most are killed in auto accidents, but other accidents, murder, suicide and disease also take their toll.

Key Findings:

• An average of 16,375 teenagers 12-19 years died in the United States every year from 1999 to 2006. This is less than 1 percent of all deaths that occur every year in the United States.

• The five leading causes of death among teenagers are Accidents (unintentional injuries), homicide, suicide, cancer, and heart disease. Accidents account for nearly one-half of all teenage deaths.

• As a category of accidents, motor vehicle fatality is the leading cause of death to teenagers, representing over one-third of all deaths.

• Among teenagers, non-Hispanic black males have the highest death rate (94.1 deaths per 100,000 population).

• Homicide is the leading cause of death for non-Hispanic black male teenagers. For all other groups, accident is the leading cause.

Sources: Businessweek, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/638802.html
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db37.htm

National Standards Sought for Teen Drivers

Three Democratic senators are pushing legislation to create a national graduated driver licensing (GDL) law. They say it would replace a patchwork of state laws with a single national standard that encompasses proven safety policies for novice drivers.

Every state except North Dakota has a licensing program for teens that includes three phrases. The strongest programs include restrictions on nighttime driving, limits on the number of teen passengers and a minimum age of 16 for getting a learner's permit. Forty-two states allow learner's permits before age 16.

There is little debate about the effectiveness of good GDL programs on highway safety. States that impose major restrictions have seen crash reductions of 10%-30%, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In Massachusetts, fatal crashes involving drivers younger than 18 dropped 75% in the three years after the state implemented tougher restrictions for young drivers; injury crashes involving these drivers fell 38%.

What is sparking controversy is a key component of the proposed federal legislation: It raises the age at which young drivers can get a learner's permit from 14 or 15 in most states to 16; it also sets 18 as the minimum age at which young drivers can get an unrestricted license.

The Senate legislation, the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection (STAND UP) act for new drivers under 21, would:

•Establish a three-stage process with a learner's permit and intermediate stage before an unrestricted driver's license.

•Prohibit unsupervised nighttime driving during the first two stages.

•Prohibit non-emergency use of cellphones and other communications devices during the first two phases.

States failing to comply with STAND UP's minimum requirements after three years would lose some federal highway construction money.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-03-teen-drivers_N.htm

90 Percent of Teens Admit Stronger Likelihood of Drinking and Driving on Prom Night

An important reminder to parents on the increased temptation of drinking and driving as we head into the prom and graduation seasons...

Each year, spring school rituals – prom and graduation – begin with so much excitement and promise yet end in tragedy for hundreds of teen drivers and their passengers. New research from Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) suggests this season could be no different. According to a national survey of more than 2,500 eleventh and twelfth graders, 90 percent of teens believe their counterparts are more likely to drink and drive on prom night and 79 percent believe the same is true for graduation night. Yet, that belief does not translate to concern, as only 29 percent and 25 percent of teens say that driving on prom night and graduation night, respectively, comes with a high degree of danger.

There were 380 teen alcohol-related traffic deaths during prom and graduation season (April, May and June) in 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports 1,009 total teen fatalities (alcohol and non-alcohol-related) in motor vehicle crashes during those same months in 2008.

Source: Insurancenewsnet.com
http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=178786&type=newswires

New Jersey's Teen Driver Decal Deadline Approaches

State officials Wednesday announced the specifics of Kyleigh's Law, a first in the nation initiative designed to help prevent teen driver deaths and injuries, which begins May 1.

The new law mandates the display of red, reflectorized decals on the front and rear license plates of any vehicle operated by a permit or probationary license holder under the age 21.

Attorney General Paula T. Dow, Motor Vehicle Administrator Raymond P. Martinez and Division of Highway Traffic Safety Director Pam Fischer, who led the Teen Driver Study Commission, discussed the law in Freehold. The commission advocated the use of vehicle decals for new drivers.

Dow noted that the decal will provide an additional tool for police to use in their continued efforts to enforce the Graduated Driver license (GDL) law.

On April 12, all MVC Agencies will sell the decals at $4 dollars per pair. The decals must be attached to the top, left corner of the front and rear license plates prior to the Graduated Driver License holder operating the vehicle. The decals are removable so that other family members who share a vehicle with a GDL holder may remove them prior to driving.

Source: newjerseynewsroom
http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/new-jerseys-teen-driver-decal-deadline-approaches

Girl Drivers Have Become More Agressive Than Boys

A recently released survey conducted by the Allstate Foundation in 2009 reveals that attitudes are shifting among teen drivers. Girls now report they're more likely to to drive aggressively and speed than boys.

Today's teen drivers say their biggest distraction in driving is... texting.

Among the findings:
• 16% of girls describe their driving as aggressive, up from 9% in 2005
• 13% of boys describe their driving as aggressive, down from 20% in 2005
• Nearly half (48%) of girls admit they are likely to speed more than 10 m.p.h. over the limit, versus 36% of boys
• More than 49% of teens report texting as a distraction, up from 31% in 2005
• 82% of teens report using cell phones while driving, while 23% admit to drinking and driving
• 51% of girls are likely to use a cell phone to talk, text or email while driving, versus 38% of boys

Historically, teen boy drivers have paid higher rates for insurance than girls. Will the changes in reported attitudes and behaviors result in parents paying more to insure their teen girls? It's probably too early to tell as rates are largely set by accident claim demographics. But if increased aggressive driving and speeding among teen girls results in more accidents, then it is likely that their insurance rates will begin to climb.

Source: Allstate Foundation
http://www.allstate.com/foundation/teen-driving/Shifting-Teen-Attitudes.aspx