Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Teen Passengers Up Risk for Fatal Accidents for Novice Drivers

A new study by AAA finds teens who drive with friends in the car are at significantly greater risk for fatal accidents.

The study found that the risk of 16- and 17-year-old drivers being killed in a crach increases with each additional passenger under the age of 21.

The study's findings note the fatality risk:

• Increases 44% when carrying one passenger younger than 21.
• Doubles when carrying two passengers younger than 21.
• Quadruples when carrying three or more passengers younger than 21.
• Carrying at least one passenger age 35 or older reduces a teen driver's risk of death by 62%.

Source: USA Today
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/05/aaa-study-passengers-up-risk-of-teen-driver-fatalities/1#.T6qP0u3lPZE

Top 10 Cars for Teens

Insurer USAA has published a list of the top 10 cars for teens.

The list is based on a survey of what USAA says parents considered as their top attributes in picking a car for a teen. They are reliability (81%), a high safety rating (73%) and cheap to insure (62%). With that in mind, here's the list:

 1. Scion tC
 2. Nissan Cube
 3. Honda Fit
 4. Scion xD
 5. Scion xB
 6. Toyota Yaris
 7. Honda Civic
 8. Hyundai Elantra
 9. Honda CR-Z
10. Kia Forte

Source: USA Today
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2012/05/rewarding-your-grad-heres-the-top-10-cars-for-teens/1#.T6fyZ-3lPZF

Teen Girls Take More Risks Behind the Wheel

A new study suggests that teen girls are far more likely than boys to engage in distracted driving behavior.

"There's a remarkable difference between boys and girls when it comes to distracting driving habits. In almost every category we surveyed ... girls are more likely to engage in dangerous or distracting behaviors by almost 15%," said Angela Patterson of Bridgestone Americas, which conducted the study.

The overwhelming majority of teen girls who responded to the study said that changing music on car stereos and playing loud music while driving distracted them. Eighty-three percent of teen girls also told researchers that having more than one passenger in the vehicle caused them to lose focus on the road.

While the majority of teens admitted they are most likely to fidget with a radio while driving, they see it as less dangerous than other factors causing accidents. Teens perceive drunken driving, reading text messages and eating while driving, as well as having other passengers in the car, as the biggest distractions for drivers their age.

Only one-third of teens in the survey said they believe that talking on the phone while driving is "very dangerous." Twenty percent of teens admitted typing the occasional text message while driving.

The full results of the study are posted on www.teensdrivesmart.com.

Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/24/us/teen-driving-study/index.html

Stricter Seat Belt Laws Get Teens to Buckle Up

Teen drivers and passengers are more likely to use seat belts if they're in states with primary-enforcement seat belt laws, often promoted as "click it or ticket" laws, a new study finds.

A primary law allows police to stop and ticket drivers solely for not wearing a seat belt. Under a secondary law, police can only ticket unbelted drivers if they are stopped for other reasons, such as speeding.

Primary seat belt laws have been proven to reduce death rates in traffic collisions, according to the report published in the April 19 online edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

In the new study, researchers examined data from more than 3,000 U.S. high school student drivers who took part in the 2006 National Young Driver Survey. The analysis revealed that teens in states with secondary laws were 12 percent less likely to wear a seat belt when driving and 15 percent less likely to do so as a passenger than teens in states with primary laws.

In addition, the investigators found that in states with secondary laws, teens' use of seat belts decreased as they progressed from learner to unrestricted license holder. This did not occur in states with primary laws.

"This study showed that primary-enforcement safety belt laws may play a key role in mitigating the disparity in safety belt use among certain teenaged subpopulation groups," lead study author Dr. J. Felipe Garcia-Espana, of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a journal news release.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/04/23/stricter-seat-belt-laws-get-teens-to-buckle-up-study-shows

Teens Still Texting While Driving

Despite high profile campaigns against distracted driving, a new survey from insurer State Farm indicates many teens might be ignoring the message.

The survey, conducted for State Farm by Harris Interactive, finds that just 43% of drivers ages 16 and 17 say they have never texted while driving — the same percentage as in the insurer's first survey in 2010.

Yet 76% of teens ages 14-17 agree that "if you regularly text and drive, someday you will be killed while driving," and 93% agree that "if you regularly text and drive, someday you will get into an accident."

The survey shows some progress: Fewer teen drivers say they "very often" text while driving, and more say they do it "rarely" than in the 2010 survey.

The survey emphasizes the vital role of parents in fighting teen texting and driving. Among the teens who text, 67% talk often with their parents about driving; that rises to 82% among teens who never text while driving.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-09/distracted-teen-driving-texting/54135840/1

Teens Give Up the Wheel

The days of teens yearning to get behind the wheel may be on the wane as online social networking replaces cars as the technological focal point for young adults.

Recent research shows that a shrinking percentage of young people are getting their driver’s licenses, and that a smaller proportion of cars on the road are driven by teens and 20-somethings.

Meanwhile, members of this younger demographic say they’re replacing car trips to see friends with online chat sessions, text messages and other social networking opportunities.

“It is possible that the availability of virtual contact through electronic means reduces the need for actual contact among young people,” said Michael Sivak, a research professor at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. “Furthermore, some young people feel that driving interferes with texting and other electronic communication.”

In 1983, about 87 percent of 19-year-olds had their licenses, according to the institute’s 2011 report. Twenty-five years later, the percentage had dropped to about 75 percent. Other teen driving groups with licenses have also declined significantly.

Young people are also making fewer and shorter car trips. Between 2001 to 2009, the average number of vehicle miles traveled by those between the ages of 16 and 34 fell from 10,300 to 7,900 miles per year — a drop of 23 percent. In the same period, the number of miles traveled annually by that age group on public transit increased by 40 percent.

Source: The Daily
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/04/07/040712-news-driving-decline/

Electronics Top Distractions for Teen Drivers

A new study of teen driving behavior has found that the use of electronic devices is the leader among distracted driving behaviors, and that teenage girls are twice as likely as boys to use cell phones or other electronic devices while driving.

The findings, from a study of video taken of young drivers, were released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Talking on the phone or texting while driving was the most common behavior that distracted young drivers, more so than adjusting controls, grooming, eating or drinking, or engaging in horseplay or loud conversations with passengers.

"This new study provides the best view we've had about how and when teens engage in distracted driving behaviors believed to contribute to making car crashes the leading cause of death for teenagers," said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger.

In nearly half (45 percent) of the abrupt driving events which triggered the data recording, the driver looked away from the roadway at some point within the 10 seconds preceding the event. Most did only briefly - two seconds or less - but 12 percent looked away for at least four seconds. Also, females looked away more often than males.

The reason for looking away? Drivers were three times as likely to be looking at an electronic device than anything else.

Source: CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57403935/electronics-top-distractions-for-teen-drivers/

Teen Drivers and Marijuana: A Dangerous Trend

A growing percentage of teens do not see marijuana use as a distraction while driving, and nearly one in five (19%) say they have gotten behind the wheel after smoking pot, a new study reports.

In the study of nearly 2,300 11th- and 12th-graders across the country, commissioned by Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD, 70% of teens say marijuana use is "very" or "extremely" distracting to their driving, down from 78% in 2009.

The findings reflect "a dangerous trend toward the acceptance of marijuana and other substances compared to our study of teens conducted just two years ago," says Stephen Wallace, senior adviser for policy, research and education at SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions).

The trend has been reflected elsewhere. In December, the University of Michigan's "Monitoring the Future" study of 47,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders found that marijuana use rose in 2011 for the fourth straight year and that daily use was at a 30-year peak level among high school seniors.

The new study's findings are disturbing "both in terms of the increased use of marijuana and from the perspective that many think this is not a danger," Wallace says.

Among teens who have driven after using marijuana, 36% say it presents no distraction when operating a vehicle. Nearly one in five (19%) say alcohol is no distraction.

In talking with teenagers around the country, "we hear from young people who believe that marijuana actually makes them a safer driver, that they concentrate harder, drive slower," Wallace says. Those are all misconceptions, he says, adding that "marijuana affects memory, judgment, and perception" and can lead to poor decisions when behind the wheel.

Source: USA Today
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/teen-ya/story/2012-02-22/Marijuana-is-no-big-deal-to-teen-drivers/53211980/1

Deaths Rise Among Youngest Drivers

A report from a national road safety group highlights what could be a troubling trend among young drivers: an increase in fatalities among 16- and 17-year-old drivers after several years of declines in that age group.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) examined deaths of 16- and 17-year-old drivers through the first six months of 2011 and found an 11% increase over the same period in 2010. Deaths of 16-year-olds rose 16% and 17-year-olds 7%, for an overall jump of 11%.

The study by the GHSA, which represents states on highway safety issues, covers only the first half of last year. Traffic deaths usually rise during the second half of the year, which includes summer and vacation driving. If data for the second half of 2011 continue the trend, it would be the first time in eight years that deaths have risen for this age group of drivers.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-15/teen-driving-deaths/53109102/1

Fewer Teens Desperate to Drive

In 1983, about 46 percent of 16-year-old Americans had a driver’s license, but by 2008, only 31 percent had one, according to a recent study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

Older teens are also driving less: The number of 18-year-olds with licenses fell from 80 percent in 1983 to 65 percent in 2008, while the number of 17-year-olds on the road dropped from 69 percent to 50 percent.

In fact, the number of drivers all the way up to 29 has dropped, according to the study, which is based on data from the Federal Highway Administration.

Study co-author Michael Sivak says the Internet may be a big reason for the drop. “Virtual contact through electronic means reduces the need for actual contact,” Sivak wrote in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times, adding jokingly, “My favorite characterization of the social-media explanation (with some anecdotal evidence for it) is that ‘driving interferes with texting.’ ”

Concerns about preserving the environment, the recent economic downturn and a migration of young people to the cities — where public transportation is more readily available — likely are all contributing to the lack of interest in driving, Sivak said.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/10114331-418/fewer-teens-desperate-to-start-driving-is-the-internet-the-reason-why.html