DISTRACTED DRIVING:
Cell Phones: Don’t Be Driven To Distraction
One of the most common, tempting and deadly distractions for teens behind the wheel is the cell phone. One in
four American teen drivers admit to texting while driving, and 40 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds say they have
been in a car where a teen driver used a cell phone in a dangerous way. Although teens and others may not
realize it, any cell phone use, whether hand-held or hands-free, while driving is dangerous. Many states also
ban the use of cell phones, including hands-
free devices, for novice teen drivers.
There’s no reason to sugarcoat it:
Texting while driving is a BAD idea.
Passengers
Distractions such as peer passengers (driving someone around your own
age) while driving can be deadly for teens. Driving a friend home from
practice or to the movies may seem harmless, but your crash risk doubles
if you have one peer passenger in the car and actually more than triples
with two or more peer passengers.These distractions are so dangerous
because they take your focus off the road and lower your reaction time
for dealing with potential hazards.
Start talking to your friends about your family’s driving rules before you
get your license.They may not know that you’re not allowed to drive
them around for another year or how you expect them to behave once
you can.Tell them you’re working really hard to become a good driver,
and you need their support.
As a driver, you must take control of the car. Remember, you’re responsible
not only for your safety, but also for your passengers. If they can’t
follow your rules, then you can’t drive them. Sometimes
being a good friend means knowing when to
say “no.”
Unsafe Driving Practices
It’s important to understand why teens crash at a higher rate than adults.
There are many factors that come into play, but there are several com-
mon critical errors inexperienced teen drivers make that lead to serious
crashes.These include lack of scanning to detect and respond to hazards,
driving too fast for road conditions, and being distracted by something
inside or outside of the vehicle.The main reason why teens die in these
crashes is because they fail to use their seat belts.
Teens and Speeding
Teens see their driver license as proof that they’re grown up.What they
don’t realize is that a license can also expose them to certain dangers,
such as speeding. Speeding, or going too fast for the road conditions, is a
major factor in teen crash fatalities. Speeding increases stopping distance
and reduces the time needed to avoid a collision (called the 3-second
rule). It also increases the likelihood that the crash will result in injury.
For example, teens driving 40 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. zone may think they’re
“only” going 10 m.p.h. over the posted speed limit. But that “small”
increase in speed translates to a 78 percent increase in
collision energy.
Teens and Seatbelts
Even though most teens do wear a seat belt, teens buckle up
the least of any age group.While seat belt use is important for
all ages, it’s crucial for this age group because their crash rate is
so high.According to the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety (IIHS), two-thirds of teens killed in crashes were not
wearing seat belts.
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving is an important skill for all drivers. So it’s
especially important for teens to start building this habit as
they develop their driving skills. What is defensive driving?
Defensive driving is a set of skills that help you to protect your-
self from common dangers caused by bad drivers, drunk drivers
and even poor weather conditions. You may not be able to control
the actions of others or the weather conditions, but you can prepare
and protect yourself by building these defensive driving habits:
• Plan ahead for the unexpected
• Control your speed
• Be prepared to react to other drivers
• Do not expect other drivers to do what you think they should do
• Respect other users of the roadway
• Be aware of driving in special road and weather conditions
• Be alert and avoid distractions, such as cell phone use and eating
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