OUR NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the Jungle Vine,
where we share tips, news bits and the latest research concerning
young drivers. In this issue, we offer you:
• Leading by
Example with Safety Belts
• Drivers Tip - On Space & Visibility
• Teen Passenger Restrictions Predicted
to Save Lives
• Teen Crashes Differ from Other Driver
Crashes
Leading by Example
with Safety Belts
One of the best things a parents can do to protect their teens on
the road is to lead by example and buckle up. A study conducted
at 12 high schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts tracked teens
and their parents arriving to school. Of teen passengers with an
adult driver, only 50% of the males and 56% of the females were
wearing seat belts. These abysmal rates dropped even lower among
passengers with a teen driver, where 42% of the males and 52 % of
the females were using seatbelts. The survey extended to school
football games, but found the averages of safety belt use weren't
actually much lower, though the pattern of use among between the
morning ride and game ride was inconsistent. Teen passengers were
much more likely to be using belts when the driver, whether and
adult or another teenager, bucked up.
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YOUNG DRIVER TIP:
ON SPACE & VISIBILITY
Our definition of SPACE & VISIBILITY:
The space for your vehicle in the asphalt jungle and visibility
for you the driver so you can see where you are going.
At JSDT, we teach our students the 5 keys
to "Space & Visibility" driving. We do this be providing
a visual image for the student to remember, a reason for the action
and phrase (mnemonic) to help in locking good practices into the
students' head.
Teen
Passenger Restrictions Predicted to Save Lives...
Passenger restrictions on teens drivers have been adopted in several
states over the last five years. But we won't know their actual
effects until there are several years to study trends. In the mean
time, John Hopkins University has estimated the impact of this controversial
restriction. If teens obeyed the law and chose other options, with
50% going with an older driver; 30% staying home, 10% driving themselves
and 10% violating the law, 350 lives would be saved each year. Even
if 80% of teens violate the restriction by going with a young driver
anyway, 60 lives a year would be saved. Even if only half of the
drivers obeyed the law, the death reductions would be 20 to 30 percent.
Researchers said that the crash risk associated with transporting
teen passengers is so high that even with low compliance, the restrictions
are likely to save lives. The road user death rate for 16 and 17
year-old drivers with passengers younger than 20 is four times the
rate with no passengers.
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Teen
Crashes Differ from Other Driver Crashes
Teenagers not only have higher
crash rates than other age groups, their crashes are different. Analyses
of fatal crash data indicate that teenage drivers are more likely
to be at fault in their crashes. Teenagers' crashes and violations
are more likely to involve speeding than those of older drivers, and
teenagers are more likely than drivers of other ages to be in single-vehicle
fatal crashes. Plus, teenagers do more of their driving at night,
and in small and older cars compared with adults. About 40% of teenagers'
fatalities occur at night, especially weekend nights.
And for 16 year-olds, all these problems are heightened. The combination
of inexperience behind the wheel and immaturity produces a pattern
of fatal crashes among 16 year-olds that includes the highest percentage
of crashes involving speeding, the highest percentage of single-vehicle
crashes, the highest percentage of crashes with driver error, and
the highest vehicle occupancy. Back
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