During the 2023-2024 school year, Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) supported an activity at TDS schools to decrease electronic device use among teen drivers and adult drivers who transport students. The activity, Zero Hero, is in its 11th year and consists of a pre-observation, three weeks of messaging, and a post-observation completed by students. The activity was offered to all program schools. Twenty-seven high schools and junior high schools completed this activity by returning all observation data.
High school student teams were asked to observe teen drivers and log if they were or were not visibly using an electronic device. Junior High student teams were asked to observe adult drivers and log electronic use.
Questions regarding data may be directed to Christine Yager at c-yager@tti.tamu.edu.
The above dot plot shows the percentage of all 27 schools who achieved 10% or less phone usage while driving between the pre- and post-observations. You can see that between the pre- and post-observations, there were significantly more schools who reached this benchmark after doing TDS distracted driving awareness outreach on their campus. 52% of schools experienced a decrease in phone usage while driving between the pre- and post-observations.
All 2023 – 2024 Schools
(n=27 schools)
| Pre-Counts | Post-Counts | % Change | |
| Teen Driver Sampling | 2,567 | 2,522 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 21.23% | 19.18% | -9.61% |
| First Year Schools (i.e. the first year that a school completed this activity) (n=14 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 1,508 | 1,386 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 17.88% | 19.14% | +7.05% |
| Multi-Year Schools (the latest year that a school completed this activity) (n=13 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 1,059 | 1,136 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 26.00% | 19.24% | -25.97% |
The following sections show state-specific Zero Hero Distracted Driving Results
Texas 2023 – 2024 Schools
(n=2 schools)
| Pre-Counts | Post-Counts | % Change | |
| Teen Driver Sampling | 209 | 220 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 19.69% | 26.55% | +34.79% |
| First Year Schools (i.e. the first year that a school completed this activity) (n=1 school) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 100 | 100 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 15.00% | 8.00% | -46.67% |
| Multi-Year Schools (the latest year that a school completed this activity) (n=1 school) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 109 | 120 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 24.00% | 42.00% | +75.00% |
Georgia 2023 – 2024 Schools
(n=5 schools)
| Pre-Counts | Post-Counts | % Change | |
| Teen Driver Sampling | 566 | 535 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 24.46% | 16.02% | -34.50% |
| First Year Schools (i.e. the first year that a school completed this activity) (n=3 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 389 | 330 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 20.02% | 19.30% | -3.56% |
| Multi-Year Schools (the latest year that a school completed this activity) (n=2 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 177 | 205 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 34.22% | 10.73% | -68.64% |
Nebraska 2023 – 2024 Schools
(n=2 schools)
| Pre-Counts | Post-Counts | % Change | |
| Teen Driver Sampling | 133 | 188 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 5.91% | 5.62% | -4.86% |
| First Year Schools (i.e. the first year that a school completed this activity) (n=0 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | |||
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | |||
| Multi-Year Schools (the latest year that a school completed this activity) (n=2 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 133 | 188 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 5.91% | 5.62% | -4.86% |
Colorado 2023 – 2024 Schools
(n=7 schools)
| Pre-Counts | Post-Counts | % Change | |
| Teen Driver Sampling | 496 | 406 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 14.89% | 16.42% | +10.28% |
| First Year Schools (i.e. the first year that a school completed this activity) (n=5 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 370 | 306 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 11.40% | 17.93% | +57.28% |
| Multi-Year Schools (the latest year that a school completed this activity) (n=2 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 126 | 100 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 25.14% | 11.80% | -53.07% |
Washington 2023 – 2024 Schools
(n=4 schools)
| Pre-Counts | Post-Counts | % Change | |
| Teen Driver Sampling | 304 | 381 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 16.66% | 29.83% | +79.07% |
| First Year Schools (i.e. the first year that a school completed this activity) (n=2 schools) |
|||
| Teen Driver Sampling | 248 | 332 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 16.82% | 30.00% | +78.35% |
| Multi-Year Schools (the latest year that a school completed this activity) (n=2 schools) |
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| Teen Driver Sampling | 56 | 49 | |
| Total % of Teens Driving Distracted | 15.95% | 28.69% | +79.94% |