Distracted Driving at an All-Time High with Teen Drivers Most at Risk

By Aline Miranda on March 20, 2015

All drivers – but especially teenagers – should think first and foremost about safety, but cell phones, text messaging and traffic have taken distractions to an all time high. The result is all time high numbers of accidents. All drivers are susceptible to these distractions, but research shows more experienced drivers can control these distractions, but younger, less experienced driver cannot. As a result, younger, less experienced drivers cause more accidents.

According to David Hurwitz, an assistant professor of transportation engineering at the College of Engineering at Oregon State University: “Anything that takes your attention away, any glance away from the road for 2 seconds or longer can increase the risk of an accident from 4 to 24 times.”

The worst distractions are texting or talking on a cell phone. Studies show “hands-free” phones are no safer than a hand-held phone because the real distraction is talking to someone who is not in the car. And talking on the phone is not the only distraction: eating, drinking, smoking, adjusting the radio, changing a CD, using GPS also can be dangerous distractions. Amazingly, a recent study found that 27% of teenagers even changed clothes or shoes while driving, and worked on homework while driving!

“Interactive” driver simulation programs – like a driver training video game – can make younger drivers more aware of the many distractions they face everyday. According to Hurwitz: “Young people learn better when they are involved in the process, not just sitting and listening to a lecture, students doing this can see how much better their awareness and reaction time are when they aren’t distracted.”