Distracted driving has been a hot-button issue this year especially at the federal government level, and schools are taking notice.
Motor vehicle crashes are responsible for killing 5,000 teenagers and injuring another 300,000 each year. respectively, than any other cause. And unsafe teen drivers were responsible for another 4,500 fatalities to other motorists in 2007.
A study by the Allstate Foundation earlier this year found that discovered that 82 percent of teens reported that they used cell phones while driving. Meanwhile, just under half of all teens they knew texting while driving was distraction; yet, they do it anyway. In fact, a quarter of teen drivers are texting while driving!
Here’s another figure to chew on: driver error is the cause of nearly eight out of every 10 fatal crashes involving teens. The crash data is truly staggering.
School districts are beginning to respond by teaching their students about responsible cell phone use and the dangers of distracted driving. As reported by eSchoolNews:
“A University of Utah study showed that a 20-year-old driver on a cell phone had the same reaction time as a 70-year-old. And regardless of age, drivers on cell phones are 18 percent slower in hitting the brakes and 17 percent slower to regain speed after braking.”
Where does school transportation fit in, you ask? How many of your operations are also responsible for managing teen driver education programs? If someone else teaches teen drivers, why isn’t transportation involved, at least sharing informatoin with these instructors?
