Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Most Fatalities in Teen Crashes Are Not the Drivers

Only one-third of people killed in fatal crashes involving teen drivers are the drivers themselves, a new report shows.

The other two-thirds of victims are passengers, drivers and occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

"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," Robert L. Darbelnet, AAA president and CEO, said in an American Automobile Association news release.

The analysis of U.S. crash data from 1998 to 2007 showed that crashes involving drivers aged 15 to 17 killed 28,138 people. Of those, 10,388 (36.9 percent) were the teen drivers. The other 17,750 (63.1 percent) victims included 8,829 passengers of the teen drivers, 6,858 occupants of other vehicles, and 2,063 non-motorists.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/03/27/most-fatalities-in-teen-crashes-are-not-the-drivers.html

Starting High School One Hour Later May Reduce Teen Traffic Accidents

A new study shows that after a one-hour delay of school start times, teens increased their average nightly hours of sleep and decreased their "catch-up sleep" on the weekends, and they were involved in fewer auto accidents.

When school started one hour later students averaged from 12 minutes (grade nine) to 30 minutes (grade 12) more self-reported nightly sleep. The percentage of students who got at least eight hours of sleep per weeknight increased significantly from 35.7 percent to 50 percent; students who got at least nine hours of sleep also increased from 6.3 percent to 10.8 percent. The average amount of additional weekend sleep, or "catch-up sleep," decreased from 1.9 hours to 1.1 hours. Daytime sleepiness decreased, as reported by students using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Average crash rates for teen drivers in the study county in the two years after the change in school start time dropped 16.5 percent compared to the two years prior to the change, while teen crash rates for the rest of the state increased 7.8 percent over the same time period.

A survey concerning the sleep habits of students from an entire county-wide school district in Kansas was distributed before and after a change in school start times.

Source: Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081215074351.htm

California Teen Driver Deaths Drop

California's Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) law has contributed to a significant drop in at-fault crashes involving 16-year-old drivers, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The 2006 law has also resulted in a 40 percent decrease in teen passenger deaths and injuries involving 16-year-old drivers.

A recent study, conducted by the Auto Club of Southern California, examined fatal and injury crashes where inexperienced teen drivers were at fault both before and after GDL took effect in January 2006. Before the new law in 2004 and 2005, the state had an average of 81.5 at-fault fatal and injury crashes among 16-year-olds between 11 p.m. and midnight. The number of fatal and injury crashes decreased to an average of 54 in 2006 and 2007 after the law took effect.

Source: Marketwatch
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/California-Teen-Driver-Deaths-Drop/story.aspx?guid=%7B9CBB9C06-F0F2-409D-B3C2-46F4A2A24E06%7D

Sleep Deprived Teens More Likely to Fall Asleep at the Wheel

Teens who get less than eight hours of sleep per night on average are twice as likely to say they have fallen asleep at the wheel (20 percent) than are teens who report getting an average of eight or more hours of sleep per night (10 percent), according to a new Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) survey. The national survey of 3,580 students in grades ten, eleven and twelve also found that 36 percent of teens often drive when drowsy to school in the morning.

"The new survey reminds teens and parents that road safety begins with a good night's sleep," said Dave Melton, director of Transportation Technical Consulting Services at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety in Hopkinton, Mass.

"As parents we tend to equate safe teen driving with sober driving, but fatigue should be an equal cause for concern," said Melton. "Together we need to raise awareness of the risk factors and symptoms of drowsy driving in our communities and schools, to ensure our children are getting the rest they need and provide them with the tools to know what to do if they are on the road and tired."

Sufficient sleep is the best antidote to drowsy driving. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that teens should be getting between 8.5 and 9.5 hours of sleep to be fully rested, but due to classes, after school activities and social lives most teens are getting much less. The Liberty Mutual/SADD study found that teens get an average of 7.4 hours of sleep per night, the least amount (7.2 hours on average) coming on school nights (Sunday-Thursday).

Source: MarketWatch
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Teens-Cant-Cheat-Sleep-New/story.aspx?guid=%7B82A8A0E6-6CEF-4E98-938A-4A34391088FC%7D

Many Unlicensed Teen Drivers Put Safety Last

As if the thought of teenagers driving before they've gotten their license isn't scary enough, a new study finds these same kids are also more likely to drive while drinking or on drugs, and more apt to not buckle up when they get behind the wheel.

Reporting in the November issue of Pediatrics, researchers found that about one in every 25 U.S. unlicensed teens drives at least one hour per week.

"These kids are getting out without supervision and putting themselves and others on the road at risk," said study senior author Dr. Flaura Winston, co-director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

In total, 4.2 percent of these teens reported at least some unlicensed driving. Teens who reported unlicensed driving were more likely to drink, with 51 percent reporting having had a drink in the past month. Unlicensed drivers were twice as likely as licensed teens to "sometimes" use alcohol or drugs while driving. Those with lower grades were also more likely to be unlicensed drivers. Almost half of unlicensed drivers reported that they didn't use their seatbelts all the time.

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2008/11/03/many-unlicensed-teen-drivers-put-safety-last.html

Maryland Offers Teen Driver Cams

Kudos to Maryland for their efforts in attempt to make teen driving safer. Free cameras that mount to a car's interior windshield are available to families with teen drivers. The cameras record footage only when sensors are triggered by excessive G-forces, that typically would accompany maneuvers such as sudden braking or swerving. I'm sure teens don't like it, but it sounds like a solid idea for motivating safer driving.

With Car Cameras, Teen Drivers Have Wide Audience
More than 100 cameras that record the moments before and after an unusual driving maneuver are still available for free for Southern Maryland families with teenage drivers.

The cameras are among the latest tools in the effort to reduce teen car crashes, a troublesome problem in Southern Maryland. Last year, crashes involving drivers ages 16 to 20 killed 15 people in the region, where young drivers have few public transportation options and often long commutes to school.

The cameras, produced by San Diego-based DriveCam, are paid for with a $170,000 grant from the Maryland Highway Administration, officials said. Typically, the hardware, installation and a year of service cost about $900. After the first year, the service runs about $30 a month. In Southern Maryland, Best Buy will install the cameras for free.

The cameras are mounted on the front windshield and capture activity inside and outside the vehicle. They save about 20 seconds of footage when sensors are triggered by excessive G-forces, which tend to accompany maneuvers such as sudden braking or swerving.

Saved footage is transmitted to DriveCam via a cellular network. Experts review the videos, add tips for the young drivers and post them on a Web site where parents can see them a day or so later. Parents receive an e-mail alert when the videos are posted.

Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/24/AR2008102403988.html

For more information and ideas on keeping your teen driver safe, see my article on HomeWord.com:

Tips for Keeping Your Teen Driver Safe

Ford Unveils Parental Controls on Cars

We'll see how this works out... Like any first-generation product, there's bound to be better solutions to follow, but kudos to Ford for being the first automaker to make an effort to address the inherent dangers of teen driving!

Starting next year, Ford Motor will roll out a feature on many 2010 models that can limit teen drivers to 80 mph, using a computer chip in the key. Parents also have the option of programming the teen's key to limit the audio system's volume, and to sound continuous alerts if the driver doesn't wear a seat belt.

"Our message to parents is, hey, we are providing you some conditions to give your new drivers that may allow you to feel a little more comfortable in giving them the car more often," said Jim Buczkowski, Ford's director of electronic and electrical systems engineering.

The feature, called "MyKey," will debut on the 2010 Focus compact car.

It will be standard on an unspecified number of Ford models when the 2010 cars and trucks come out late next summer. The feature will spread to the entire Ford, Lincoln and Mercury lineup as models are updated, spokesman Wes Sherwood said.

"It's making use of existing technology, and through the magic of software, we're able to build features on top of the features we already have," Buczkowski said.

In addition to speed limits, MyKey also will limit the volume of the audio system, and it will sound a six-second chime every minute if seat belts are not fastened. The chime sounds for adult drivers, too, but ends after five minutes to avoid annoying adults who adamantly don't want to wear seat belts, Buczkowski said.

Parents also have the option of having the car sound a chime if the teen exceeds 45, 55 or 65 mph.

Ford said its market research shows 75% of parents like the speed and audio limits, but as you might expect, 67% of teens don't.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-10-06-ford-key_N.htm

And, while we're on this topic, State Farm has just released findings of a 5-year study that indicates October is the most dangerous month of the year for teen drivers.

Source: Central Illinois Proud.com
http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?cid=25641

As Text Messages Fly, Danger Lurks

Even as industry calculations show that Americans are now using mobile phones to send or receive more text messages than phone calls, those messages are coming under increasing fire because of the danger they can pose by distracting users. Though there are no official casualty statistics, there is much anecdotal evidence that the number of fatal accidents stemming from texting while driving, crossing the street or engaging in other activities is on the rise.

“The act of texting automatically removes 10 I.Q. points,” said Paul Saffo, a technology trend forecaster in Silicon Valley. “The truth of the matter is there are hobbies that are incompatible. You don’t want to do mushroom-hunting and bird-watching at the same time, and it is the same with texting and other activities. We have all seen people walk into parking meters or walk into traffic and seem startled by oncoming cars.”

Source: New York TImes
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/us/20messaging.html?

Teens are texting. As such, it would be a good idea for parents to have discussions with their kids on texting safety: Like absolutely no texting while driving, and the need to stay alert to surroundings when texting.

Texting While Driving "More Dangerous than Drugs or Alcohol"

Interesting research from the United Kingdom on the dangers of texting while driving. A small sample of drivers were used in the study, but nonetheless, the findings aren't surprising. Prohibiting texting while driving should be pretty high on a parent's expectations for teen drivers!

Texting behind the wheel is more dangerous than driving while under the influence of alcohol or marijuana, researchers said recently.

Research carried out on 17 young drivers (aged 17-24) using a simulator found that reaction time slowed by 35% when they were writing or reading text messages while driving. In comparison, reaction time deteriorated by 21% for those under the influence of marijuana, and by 12% at the legal alcohol limit.

Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) -- which carried out the study for the RAC Foundation -- also found that steering control worsened by 91% for those who were distracted by texts, compared to 35% when marijuana was involved.

The tests also showed that texters were less able to maintain safe distances from other cars and they tended to drift out of their lane more often.

Source: Yahoo!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080918/wl_uk_afp/britaintransportsociety

Group Says States Should Raise the Driving Age

Taking aim at a longstanding rite of passage for 16-year-olds, an influential auto safety group is calling on states to raise the age for getting a driver's license to 17 or even 18.

Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry, acknowledged the idea is "a tough sell," but noted that car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers.

"The bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives," Lund said. He plans to present the proposal Tuesday at the annual conference of the Governors Highway Safety Association in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Not surprisingly, a lot of teens hate the idea.

Among other things, institute researchers have compiled decades worth of data from New Jersey, the only state that issues licenses at 17. Various studies have shown that the overall rate of teens killed in crashes in New Jersey has been consistently lower than in some nearby states.

Source: Associated Press
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ggYPQQdqy2wNUvwvkq7ZdP_0TakgD93313IG0

Given the fact that auto accidents are the number one cause of death among teenagers, raising the driving age would be a no-brainer. Yet, like so many other issues, it's not that simple. One of the big reasons that I think parents would oppose this move, is that by the time teens reach the mid-teens, moms and dads are ready to hang up their chauffeur's hat. Raising the driving age means another year of running their kids around. Another argument I've seen against raising the driving age is that it actually postpones the process of kids becoming responsible. As one Massachusetts mom (quoted in the article) said, "Do we really want our kids dependent upon parents for virtually everything until they go to college, can vote and serve their country?" Still, given the data from the study that raising the driving age will save lives, it seems reasonable to do so, despite the parental inconveniences and the potential for postponing another rite of passage into adulthood.

What's your opinion?

For more information about teen driving and how to keep kids safe, read my article on HomeWord.com:
Tips for Keeping Your Teen Driver Safe