This month was the US launch of the Global Youth Traffic Safety Month. As a nanny to a teenager and involved with driver’s education with the teenager, this was of great interest to me. Luckily here in the Washington DC area, teenagers can take driving classes from I Drive Smart, which is run by active duty or retired police officers.
National Youth Traffic Safety Month® (NYTSM) was formed in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to support the United Nations 2007 Global Road Safety Week. NYTSM is an annual campaign held each May which engages youth organizations (often chapters of NOYS Coalition member organizations) to engage in traffic safety projects in their local community. from NOYS.org History
One of the programs to come out of this is The Novice Driver’s Road Map . This road map provides 8 driving lessons for parents/guardians to help guide teens through being a novice driver. I really like them and will be sharing them with my teen this week when we go driving again. This can also be a fundraiser for various youth groups and schools.
- The Empty Parking Lot
- Residential/Rural Area
- City/Business District
- Shopping Center Parking Lot
- Major Highway
- Freeway/Interstate
- Night Driving
- Inclement Weather
Some facts from the NHTSA 2011 Traffic Safety Data for Young Drivers
In 2011, 1,987 young (15- to 20-year-old) drivers died in motor vehicle crashes,
an increase of 1 percent from 1,965 in 2010. Additionally 180,000 young drivers
were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2011, a decrease of 4 percent from 187,000
in 2010.
The two-year comparison of total driver involvement in fatal crashes showed a
2-percent reduction from 44,599 in 2010 to 43,668 in 2011. During this same period,
young driver involvement decreased 6 percent from 4,603 in 2010 to 4,347 in 2011.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all 15- to 20-year-olds,
according to the most recent data available (2009) from the National Center for
Health Statistics.
There were 211.9 million licensed drivers in the United States in 2011. Young drivers
accounted for 6 percent (12.6 million) of the total, a .8-percent increase from the 12.5
million young drivers in 2002. Population for this age group increased from 2002 to
2011 – by 5.9 percent.cv
In addition to driving responsibly, there is the need for teens and other drivers to stay connected via their cell phones and texting. Did you know that driving and texting is now the number ONE KILLER among teen driving accidents? It surpasses drunk driving, but it doesn’t have to. Cell phone carriers are now coming together to prevent texting and driving. Origo has developed a device that doesn’t allow you to drive with your cell phone on in the car.
How to (and How NOT to) Talk to Your Teen About Texting and Driving
Teens Against Distracted Driving visit TADD and sign the pledge with your child to not text and drive
Regardless of how old the children are in the car you are driving, preventing distracted teen driving starts with you. Put your cell phone, use a handsfree ear piece, do not text and model healthy driving habits with the children.