It’s National Teen Driver Safety Week, many companies and groups are offering data, advise, apps, classes and suggestions for parents and teen drivers. Yesterday, AUTO Connected Car News published the first round of information and guidance for parents. Today, there’s more information to make drivers every where aware of teen safety.
The National Safety council notes that biggest threat to teens’ safety is the vehicle sitting in their parents’ driveways. Yet, many parents remain under-educated about the risks new drivers face. The National Safety Council compiled a list of statistics to help parents know what is going on. There are apps and services that can help parents monitor driving.
Teen Driving Stats
For National Teen Driver Safety Week Oct. 15-21, the National Safety Council compiled a list of statistics and facts many parents do not – but should – know about teen driver safety:
- The most dangerous year of a teen’s life is the year he or she receives a license.
- Half of all teens will be involved in a car crash before graduating from high school.
- A teen’s crash risk is three times that of more experienced drivers.
- After years of declines, teen driving crashes and fatalities are on the rise.
- Just one teen passenger can increase a teen driver’s crash risk by 44 percent.
- 75 percent of teen driver crashes occur because the teen made a critical error due to inexperience, such as driving too fast for conditions, not scanning for hazards or being distracted.
- 52 percent of teens who are killed in a car crash are unbelted.
- Cell phones are a huge driver of distraction for already inexperienced teen drivers, yet twelve states still allow some form of cell phone use for novice drivers.
- About 20 percent of teen car crashes involve an underage drinking driver.
“As teen traffic fatalities rise, parents are in a unique position to reverse this trend,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “Parents have more influence on their teens’ driving habits than they think. National Teen Driver Safety Week is the perfect time for parents to educate themselves, teach their teens safe driving habits and save lives.”
According to the NSC State of Safety Report, individual states vary greatly in their efforts to reduce teen driving fatalities. California is the only state considered to be “On Track” for teen driver safety, however, other states, such as New Jersey, are finding success with new tactics to avoid teen crashes.
The NSC parent education initiative, DriveitHOME, is a website created for parents that focuses on the most important things parents can do to protect teen drivers. The site demonstrates that, though teen drivers face many dangers on the road, parent involvement can significantly reduce these crash risks. Visit DriveitHOME.org with your teen to sign the New Driver Deal and make a commitment to safety for your teen’s sake.
Teen Driving Safety Classes at Boys & Girls Clubs
For National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW) classes and events will be held at Boys & Girls Clubs of America locations across the country to emphasize the importance of teen safety on the road and to highlight a Club program called UPS Road Code®. Developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of America and The UPS Foundation, UPS Road Code is a free national teen safe driving program that educates teens on safe driving techniques and best practices behind the wheel. Taught by UPS employees trained as volunteer instructors, UPS Road Code provides teens with a combination of classroom-based instruction and practice time using a virtual driving simulator.
UPS Road Code is currently available in 57 Boys & Girls Clubs throughout 46 U.S. cities, reaching some 5,000 teens per year and gives teens the opportunity to drive change for themselves and their peers. Expanding into three new cities in 2017 (Nashville, Tenn., Denver, Colo. and Charlottesville, Va.), the program is largely based on the same safety training used by UPS drivers, who are known for their safe driving techniques. UPS’s 102,000 drivers worldwide are among the safest on the roads, logging more than three billion miles per year and delivering more than four billion packages safely.
In addition, UPS Road Code has named its two 2017 National Teen Ambassadors: Jaylen Vinson from Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton Harbor and Carrea McNeal from Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, both of whom will win $1,500 scholarships and serve as national advocates for teen safe driving.
Launched in 2016, the UPS Road Code Ambassador role was developed to spur top program graduates to become safe driving ambassadors among peers and in their communities. After reviewing 57 nominees, one from each UPS Road Code Club, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and The UPS Foundation selected the top winner in each region, with Vinson winning in the East Region and McNeal winning the West Region. Both winners plan to share their passion about teen safe driving by hosting community and high school peer-to-peer events, participating in creative social media campaigns and spreading the word through speaking engagements.
“UPS Road Code prepared me for my driver’s license exam and made me feel confident in my ability to stay safe and focused on roadways,” said McNeal, UPS Road Code National Ambassador, West Region. “The program made me the responsible driver I am today, and as a UPS Road Code National Teen Ambassador, I will work toward recruiting more teens to take the program and prevent reckless driving in our communities.”
UPS Road Code focuses on different safety principles throughout the program, from basic instruction to the consequences of risky behaviors such as talking on cell phones, texting or drinking while driving. During the program, teens have a chance to practice what they’ve learned on the driving simulators, which feature a computer screen that serves as a windshield to the program’s interactive animation, a steering wheel and life-like gas and brake pedals.
Parents and others interested in learning more about safe driving and the UPS Road Code program should visit The UPS Foundation or www.bgca.org/roadcode.
Control Via Samrtphone With TeenSafe
TeenSafe, the first and leading independent smartphone control and monitoring service for parents, is joining with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) during National Teen Driver Safety Week (October 15-21) to encourage all parents to talk to their teens about smartphone distracted driving.
The CDC reports that drivers under 20 have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.
“Teen smartphone distracted driving is an issue we can all help eliminate,” says TeenSafe CEO Ralph Acosta. “Parental control apps can make certain that teens are not distracted by smartphones while driving. Teen Driver Safety Week is about raising awareness, saving lives, and making our roads safer for everyone.”
TeenSafe publishes numerous educational tools to help parents discuss these risks with their teens.
More than 1 million parents have turned to TeenSafe to effectively manage how the digital world impacts their children’s lives. The iPhone TeenSafe Control App available in the App Store includes,
• Scheduling and pausing to remotely lock teen’s iPhone while driving except for making/receiving emergency calls
• Scheduling and pausing smartphone during meals, bedtime, study time, etc.
• Control of all apps, in-app purchasing.
• Blocking camera functions.
Monitor Teens with Life360
Life360 suggest that its app can help ensure teens are practicing safe driving:
• Monitor Your Family’s Driving Behavior And Review It Together Weekly: Life360’s Driver Protect service covers everyone in the family and offers roadside assistance and crash detection in case of emergencies — as much as 58% of Driver Protect users have reported reduced phone usage while driving.
• Make A Safe Driving Promise: Establish rules of the road for everyone in your family in a written contract – make a promise you’ll always wear seatbelts, follow the speed limit and never drive under the influence or while using a cell phone.
• Don’t Have A Party In Your Car: Blasting the latest music can be fun, but a car full of bouncing teens can be distracting for the driver. Make sure everyone is in their seat, buckled up, with the music at reasonable volume.
• Drive To School Early: Driving while late to class is an easy excuse for speeding. Encourage teens not to rush. Accidents increase and defensive driving goes out the window when teen drivers speed to get to class on time.
More About Life360
• Life360 is the world’s leading family location app and driving safety service available for Android and iPhone. Using location-based technology and bank-level security, Life360 processes over 1.5 billion location requests per day and enables over 50 million families to stay coordinated and know that their loved ones are safe.
• Through the app, families privately share their locations, communicate with ease, and receive alerts when loved ones arrive or depart home, work or school. Life360 delivers peace of mind to make family life easier.