Each year, TDS conducts a survey to evaluate TDS programming in participating schools. This year’s survey participation did drop due to COVID-19, but also provided some great insight on safety topics that our students progressed in as well as concepts our youth could use additional education around.
The survey responses included 8,129 students ages 13 to 18 (75% of which were 15-17). All participating schools are members of the TDS school program and received individualized survey results.
Survey results showed that 63% of students recognized the severe danger in:
- drinking
- drug use
- texting
- lack of a seat belt
- speeding/racing
While great progress has been made, more work is needed to focus on the risk factors that that teens
need additional knowledge around:
- 35% of students slept less than 6 hours on average, putting them at even greater risk for a
drowsy driving crash. - Distracted driving – riding with passengers increases crash risk, but teens aren’t recognizing them
as a danger to their driving. - Use of social media while driving – While teens believe it’s unacceptable to use social media, 15%
still reported doing so in the past 30 days. - Nighttime driving – while teens drive less at night, more fatal crashes occur during this time,
making it an important risk factor for them to be aware of.
Highlights from this section are included in the infographic on this page.
If you are a participating TDS school and would like to see your school’s survey results, sign up and watch for the survey tool and instructions in your kit. Complete the surveys to earn a $50 gift card, All-Star points (required to earn up to $1,000), and to receive your results.