TDS part of the Distracted Driving Summit

When national leaders get together in Washington, D.C. at the end of this month to address the deadly trend of distracted driving, Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) will be an active player in the discussion.

TDS Director Russell Henk is among an exclusive group of transportation leaders and national safety experts who will come together for the first-ever National Summit on Driving.

Henk said, “This is a huge opportunity for TDS and one more example that peer-to-peer influence is an essential part of reducing the frequency of teen driver crashes.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “Safety is our number one priority. As we become a more mobile and wireless nation, we can’t afford to ignore new technology’s impact on roadway safety.”

Other participants will include senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics.

“The Secretary of Transportation was right on target when he said that we need more than law enforcement to address this problem,” Henk said. “Outreach and education have an important role to play and TDS is one proven, successful example of how outreach can work to save lives.”

TDS has collected feedback on awareness of driving dangers and driving behavior from more than 20,000 teen drivers and passengers.

“We have gained a lot of knowledge about how cell phones, texting and other teen passengers can create dangers for young drivers and passengers. We’re very happy to be invited to share that knowledge in our nation’s capital,” Henk said.

Stay tuned to t-driver.com for more updates on the National Distracted Driving Summit.