9 out of 10 Teens Admit to Distracted Driving, According to Study

We know how dangerous distracted driving can be, but do teens understand the risks?

There has been a lot of coverage by the media regarding distracted driving, not to mention the hours of research that has been poured into this driving danger. Yet, a recent study by Seventeen Magazine, the Department of Transportation and AAA does bring to light how distracted driving is impacting teens.

Virginia teen drivers face enough risks, without adding the additional hazards associated with driver distractions. They lack the experience of older drivers and have a harder time assessing road dangers. On top of all that, teens frequently have the mentality that they are invincible – that nothing will happen to them. Tragically, statistics show that motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teen drivers.

Some of the key findings of the study, which involved 2,000 teens ages 16 to 19, include the following:

86 percent admitted to driving while distracted
60 percent have talked on a cell phone behind the wheel
41 percent of the teens surveyed said that they think their action will only take a split second
35 percent said that they don’t think engaging in driver distractions will hurt them
Four out of 10 said they were worried about their safety as a passenger when the driver was distracted
Teens who admitted to texting and driving sent an average of 23 text messages behind the wheel within the span of one month

According to AAA, simply taking your eyes off the road for a mere two seconds doubles your risk of getting into an accident. That is part of what led to Seventeen Magazine’s "Two-Second Turnoff Day," which occurred on September 17th. Teens were encouraged to turn off their phones before getting behind the wheel.

As a parent of a teen driver, you can encourage driving safety by:

Explaining the dangers of distracted driving
Enforcing a rule of “no cell phone use behind the wheel”
Creating a contract between you and your teen that promises to avoid driver distractions
Limiting the number of passengers your teen can have in the vehicle at one time
Using a program, such as iZUP, to control your teen’s cell phone use while driving

For more information on how to keep your kids safe, check out Teens Against Distracted Driving (TADD), which was created by Seattle car accident lawyer Jason Epstein.

If you have been hurt in a Virginia distracted driving accident, you can order a free sample chapter of our free consumer guide, The Five Deadly Sins That Can Wreck Your Injury Claim, to learn more about personal injury claims in Haymarket and Gainesville, VA by following this link

If you have a question for Ben, you can submit it confidentially online at JustAskBenGlass.com.

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