This Driver’s Ed Program Gives Teens a Heart-Pounding Experience
August 21, 2006
You think you know it all when it comes to being behind the wheel of a car. However, after a lesson or two with this new driver’s education program for teens, you will figure out that maybe you didn’t know so much after all. The kicker is that teenagers, after some heart pounding moments, are enthusiastic about this program called Driver’s Edge.
It was started by a former race care driver named Jeff Payne. He mentions the fact that teens could ace Driver’s Ed but still have no clue how to handle a car during stressful times. With Driver’s Edge, teenagers are put through their paces, experiencing difficult driving situations. What do you do when your car goes into a skid? Many teenagers don’t really know and will overcompensate, sometimes causing an accident on the road.
Driver’s Edge will help you anticipate your moves in stressful situations. They will teach you how to carefully execute out of a skid. You will learn anti-lock braking and techniques on panic braking. Evasive lane-changing maneuvers are also on the agenda. It all sounds too cool doesn’t it, sort of like a James Bond or Fast and the Furious kind of thing. But it is real life and it will likely get your adrenaline pumping a bit.
While you would be behind the wheel of the car, a former race car driver and licensed instructor is beside you the entire time. Their job is to ensure that you don’t panic when faced with different stressful driving scenarios. They want you to act instinctively without over thinking it. Trial by fire in a controlled setting is the best way for teens to learn how to handle themselves behind the wheel of a car and avoid accidents. And we all know how the parents are going to get if that happens!
Read more driver education news in the Safe Driving Teen Monthly Bulletin. Each month the National Safety Commission publishes the bulletin for teens and parents designed to improve teen driver behavior, attitude, skills, and experience. Subscription Details
Unbelted Teen Killed in Crash
August 3, 2006
Missouri teen Charles “Charlie” J. Glik, 16, was driving at about 3 a.m. when his car left the roadway and struck a utility pole, police said. The impact snapped the pole in half, and Charlie, who was not wearing his seat belt, died at the scene..
Source: stltoday.com
Safe Driving Lesson Learned
In 28 of the states with belt use laws in 2004, the law specified secondary enforcement. That is, police officers are permitted to write a citation only after a vehicle is stopped for some other traffic infraction.
As of December 2004, 49 states and the District of Columbia had belt use laws in effect. The laws differ from state to state, according to the type and age of the vehicle, occupant seating position, etc.
Research has found that lap/shoulder safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to frontseat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. For light truck occupants, safety belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and moderate-tocritical injury by 65 percent.
Among passenger vehicle occupants over 4 years old, safety belts saved an estimated 15,434 lives in 2004.
Wear your safety belt and shoulder harness properly. In a crash, you are far more likely to be killed if you are not wearing a safety belt. Wearing shoulder belts and lap belts make your chances of living through a crash twice as good.
Airbags, combined with lap/shoulder safety belts, offer the most effective safety protection available today for passenger vehicle occupants. Research indicates an overall fatality-reducing effectiveness for airbags of 11 percent when a safety belt is used in conjunction with the airbag. In 2004, an estimated 2,647 lives were saved by airbags.
This post is an excerpt from a recent edition of the Safe Driving Teen Monthly Bulletin. Each month the National Safety Commission publishes the bulletin for teens and parents designed to improve teen driver behavior, attitude, skills, and experience. Subscription Details
Text Messaging Cause of Fatal Teen Crash
August 3, 2006
A 17-year-old likely will face misdemeanor charges after allegedly losing control of his car while text messaging and hitting a bicyclist.
The bicyclist, Jim R. Price of Highlands Ranch, died Friday, two days after the accident.
The spokesman for Douglas County Sheriff’s Office stated that the driver could face a charge of careless driving resulting in death. Under Colorado law, the teen could face up to a year in prison.
Source: USAToday.com
Safe Driving Lesson Learned
Distracted driving: According to a 2002 NHTSA/Gallup Poll, drivers often allow their attention to be diverted from their driving by one or more of the following:
- Cellular phones: About 30% of all drivers use a cell phone while driving to make outgoing or incoming calls on at least some of their driving trips. An estimated 292,000 drivers were involved in a crash attributed to cell phone use between 1997 and 2002.
- Drowsiness: 37% of the driving population says they have nodded off for at least a moment or fallen asleep while driving at some time in their life. An estimated 7.5 million drivers have fallen asleep while driving during a given month.
- Dealing with children: Nearly one in four (24%) drivers deal with children in the back seat of the car while driving.
- Eating or drinking: Half of all drivers (49%) report eating or drinking at least occasionally while driving, with 14% doing so on three-quarters or more of their driving trips.
When you drive, don’t allow poor judgment or distractions to interfere with your driving. Put safety first!
This post is an excerpt from a recent edition of the Safe Driving Teen Monthly Bulletin. Each month the National Safety Commission publishes the bulletin for teens and parents designed to improve teen driver behavior, attitude, skills, and experience. Subscription Details
Car Surfing claims the life of Nashville Teen
August 1, 2006
Police say Shawn Nipper, 16, was car surfing on McGavock Pike in Two Rivers Park on a Saturday night when he died.
Car surfing is where you stand on the roof of a moving car and try to keep your balance while the vehicle is moving. Police say it’s one of the most dangerous stunts you can pull with a car.
The victim’s family says this so-called car surfing is a dangerous, growing trend that parents need to be aware of before it claims more young lives.
Source: newschannel5.com
This post is an excerpt from a recent edition of the Safe Driving Teen Monthly Bulletin. Each month the National Safety Commission publishes the bulletin for teens and parents designed to improve teen driver behavior, attitude, skills, and experience. Subscription Details
Teenagers Involved in One Third of Fatal Automobile Crashes
July 24, 2006
About one third of the people killed in automobile crashes involving the nation’s youngest drivers were pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles, according to a recent report. An analysis of federal crash statistics by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that nearly 31,000 people were killed in crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 17 between 1995 and 2004. The foundation said it was surprised to learn that one-third of those deaths involved pedestrians and people in other vehicles.
Source: SeattleTimes.nwsource.com
Safe Driving Lesson Learned
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on the basis of miles driven, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as are all drivers. Why do young drivers have such poor driving performance?
Three factors work together to make the teen years so deadly for young drivers:
- Inexperience
- Risk-taking behavior and immaturity
- Greater risk exposure
With graduated driver licensing, new drivers typically go through a three-stage process that involves their gradual introduction to full driving privileges. By restricting when teenagers may drive, and with whom, graduated driver licensing allows new drivers to gain much-needed on-the-road experience in controlled, lower-risk settings. It also means that a teenager will be a little older and more mature when he or she gains a full, unrestricted license. After the young driver demonstrates responsible driving behavior, restrictions are systematically lifted until the driver “graduates” to full driving privileges.
This post is an excerpt from a recent edition of the Safe Driving Teen Monthly Bulletin. Each month the National Safety Commission publishes the bulletin for teens and parents designed to improve teen driver behavior, attitude, skills, and experience. Subscription Details