Teens in the Driver Seat

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Distracted Driving

TDS RisksA distraction is anything that takes your mind and attention away from driving

The problem of distractions:

  • There are three main types of distraction1:
    • Visual — taking your eyes off the road
    • Manual — taking your hands off the wheel
    • Cognitive — taking your mind off what you’re doing
  • A survey by Liberty Mutual and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) found that teens felt pressure to stay connected or “always on” contributed to their need to engage with cell phones, even while driving2:
    • 48% of teens reported texting more when alone in their car
    • 55% reported texting while driving to update parents
    • 37% reported texting to coordinate or confirm event details with friends
    • 34% reported taking their eye off the road when receiving an app notification

Cell phones:

  • Handheld cellphone use tends to be highest among 16-to-24-year-old drivers3. Females’ are more likely than males to be killed or injured in a crash of equal severity4.
  • Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves5
  • Distracted driving-related crashes accounted for 11% (233) of all teen deaths that occurred in 20185.
  • 322 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted teen driver in 20195.  A 25% increase compared to the previous year.
  • Engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing, and texting) associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times6.
  • Texting and driving causes reaction time to double and those drivers have a harder time staying in their lane and maintaining a consistent speed6.

Passengers:

  • More fatal teen crashes occur when passengers (often other teens) are in the car7.
  • Over 57% of teens that died as passengers were in vehicles driven by other teens in 20197.
  • Crash risks and the risk of being killed in a crash increases as the number of young passengers in the vehicle increases8.

What do TDS students think about distracted driving?:

Not everyone agrees it’s safe.  In fact, most students surveyed in the 2019-2020 school year believed it is UNACCEPTABLE to update social media while driving9. 

What to do about distracted driving:

  • Focus on the road. While you are driving is not the time to multi-task.
  • Keep distractions out of the car. If you know you will be tempted to look at or use your phone, lock it in the trunk or turn it off.
  • Ask passengers to obey your rules while they are in the car, meaning buckle up and don’t distract you.
  • Designate a texter. If you have a passenger, hand over your phone so they can do the texting and/or talking for you.
  • Be a good passenger by not distracting the driver.
  • Know that as a driver, you have a responsibility to yourself and others. A vehicle is a heavy machine and should be treated with respect.
  • Set your music/radio before you take your car out of Park.
  • Never use headphones while driving. It’s illegal and dangerous.
  • Keep passengers to a minimum. If every person doesn’t have a seat belt, you have too many passengers.
  • If you don’t feel well or are not emotionally able to drive – don’t. Ask for a ride or wait until you are able.

Sources:

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/index.html
  2. Liberty Mutual & SADD, 2013 https://www.libertymutualgroup.com/about-lm/news/news-release-archive/articles/new-study-finds-teens-fear-of-missing-out-is-proving-to-be-dangerous
  3. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019). Driver Electronic Device Use in 2018. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812818
  4. Kahane, C.J. 2013. Injury vulnerability and effectiveness of occupant protection technologies for older occupants and women. Report no. DOT HS-811-766. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as cited by: https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/males-and-females
  5. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2015
  6. Texas A&M Transportation Institute
  7. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Fatality Facts 2019: Teenagers. Retrieved from https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/teenagers#passenger-vehicle-occupants
  8. Ouimet MC, Pradhan AK, Brooks-Russell A, Ehsani JP, Berviche D, Simons-Morton BG. Young drivers and their passengers: a systematic review of epidemiological studies on crash risk. 2015. Journal of Adolescent Health 57 (1 Suppl): S24-35.
  9. Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 2020.  Based on 2019-2020 Teen Driver Knowledge Survey Results, https://www.t-driver.com/teens-in-the-driver-seat-2019-2020-progress-survey-results/

Updated July 2021