BALTIMORE - Teen drivers know that sending a text message, playing with the radio, or eating while driving is dangerous. It doesn't matter though, they do it anyway and admit they are doing it.
Today on Good Morning Maryland @ 9, Megan Pringle talked with Ragina Averella from AAA Mid-Atlantic who talked about distracted teen drivers and the results of a recent survey by AAA and "Seventeen" Magazine. Ragina talked about how 86% of teens admit to being distracted and what the two organizations are doing to get teens to concentrate more on the road.
To hear more about the survey, click on the video box to the left of this article to see the segment again. We have also provided links for more information and to the contest Ragina mentions to the left.
AAA Mid-Atlantic News Release
EIGHTY-SIX PERCENT OF TEENS HAVE DRIVEN WHILE DISTRACTED, ACCORDING TO AAA AND SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE SURVEY
Seventeen, AAA and Department of Transportation Team Up in a “Two-Second Turnoff Day” to Stop Texting While Driving
TOWSON, MD (Monday, August 2, 2010) – Teen drivers often understand that shooting a quick text message, playing with their radio, or eating while driving is dangerous. However, the overwhelming majority of teen drivers engage in distracted driving behaviors anyway, according to a recent survey by AAA and Seventeen magazine. Almost nine in 10 teenage drivers (86 percent) have driven while distracted, even though 84 percent of teen drivers know it’s dangerous. Featured in the September issue of Seventeen magazine, the results are based on a survey conducted this May of nearly 2,000 male and female teen drivers ages 16 – 19. Seventeen magazine and AAA set out to discover what risky behaviors teen drivers were engaging in while behind the wheel—and how they justify these dangerous behaviors.
Of those surveyed, 73 percent have adjusted their radio/CD/MP3 player, 61 percent have eaten food, and 60 percent have talked on a cell phone while driving. The reasons teen drivers think it’s fine to engage in these distractions are varied:
41 percent think their action will only take a split second;
35 percent don’t think they’ll get hurt;
34 percent said they’re used to multi-tasking; and
32 percent don’t think that anything bad will happen to them.
“It’s great that so many teens are able to identify the bad driving habits that will put them and their friends in danger. But the bigger challenge we face now is to give them the tools they need to stop driving while distracted,” says Ann Shoket, editor in chief of Seventeen magazine. “It’s our responsibility to keep our 13 million readers out of harm’s way.”
Even as passengers, teen drivers worry about distracted driving, with nearly four out of 10 (38 percent) saying they have been afraid they were going to get hurt because they were the passenger of a distracted driver. More than one-third of teen drivers (36 percent) believe they have been involved in a near-crash because of their own or someone else’s distracted driving.
“Traffic crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for teen drivers and the increase in distracted driving among teens is a challenge all of us must face head-on,” said Ragina C. Averella, Public and Government Affairs Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Because of their lack of driving experience and tendency to take risks, it’s critical that teen drivers – like all drivers – remain focused behind the wheel at all times. AAA is pleased to partner with Seventeen to spread the anti-distracted driving message and help keep teen drivers safe.”
Texting while driving is among the riskiest of common driving distractions. Teen drivers are still developing safe driving skills and should limit unnecessary risks, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. Nonetheless, the survey revealed that teen drivers who text while driving sent, on average, 23 text messages while driving in the past month. Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver and more than a half million were injured, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
According to AAA, taking your eyes off of the road for two seconds doubles your risk of getting into a crash. On September 17, Seventeen magazine, AAA and the Department of Transportation are asking everyone to save a life and participate in the Seventeen Two-Second Turnoff Day by taking two seconds to turn off their cell phone before driving. Instead of spending two seconds looking away from the road while driving distracted, use those two seconds to turn off your phone before getting behind the wheel.
For additional information on keeping teens safer on the road, visit AAAExchange.com.
Seventeen (www.seventeen.com) is the best-selling monthly teen magazine, reaching more than 13 million readers every month. In each issue, Seventeen reports on the latest in fashion, beauty, health and entertainment, as well as information and advice on the complex real-life issues that young women face every
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