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Garland Teens Continue Safe Driving Campaign
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Garland, Texas – October 4, 2007 -- More crashes involving teenage drivers happen at night than at any other time, but surveys show that young people are unaware of the nighttime danger. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that young drivers are more likely to crash between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. than at any other time of the day. These are facts that Garland teens are trying to focus on as the fall days become shorter and nighttime hours come sooner.
"Nighttime driving is the most common risk for young drivers, but it's the risk that we are least aware of," says Molly Davis, chair of the Garland Youth Council. "Nearly half of our young drivers say they drive at night frequently, but only 1 percent of them understand that driving at night is risky. As it begins to get dark earlier and earlier each day, that's something we all need to think about."
Across America, car crashes kill more teenagers than any other cause. The Garland Youth Council and teams from all seven Garland ISD high schools joined forces in March to fight this national epidemic at the local level by launching the unique TDS peer-to-peer safety program.
More than 16 young people die every day in crashes across the U.S. Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers attribute the crashes to inexperience, combined with one or more of the five main risks that plague young drivers:
driving at night,
distractions (cell phones and other teen passengers),
speeding,
low seat belt use, and
alcohol.
Statewide surveys have shown that young drivers and their parents are largely unaware of those risks and their consequences. Surveys conducted last February of Garland area students reflected the same lack of awareness. Less than one percent of students recognize that driving at night is risky, the survey revealed. The survey revealed that local teenage drivers routinely engage in risky driving behaviors:
Nearly half of the Garland students who responded to the survey said they have frequently talked on a cell phone or exchanged text message while driving.
Almost a third say they have frequently driven with other teen passengers in the car.
Texas Transportation Institute teams conducted observation surveys at the various high schools in February and again in April to monitor one important safety element: Seat belt use. They found overall seatbelt use increased from February to April. More than 84% of drivers wore seatbelts in the original observations and improved to almost 91% in April. However, 77.3% of front seat passengers and only 48% of back seat passengers were belted.
“Although our observers noted improvements in seat belt use among teenagers, it’s apparent the message still isn’t sinking in for non-drivers,” says Dr. Christopher Poe of the Texas Transportation Institute. “But I am encouraged to see that even in the non-driver categories, the numbers improved just a few short months after the TDS program was launched in Garland.”
Teens in the Driver Seat®(TDS), offered to area schools at no cost through support from the Texas Department of Transportation and State Farm Insurance of Texas, is the first peer-to-peer driving safety program in the nation. Garland was among the first cities in North Texas to adopt the program. Unlike any other safety initiative targeting young people behind the wheel, TDS involves teens directly to help develop and deliver the right message.
TTI provides the science, program materials and background support for the TDS program, while each student group determines on its own how the program will work in their school. At each of Garland ISD’s high schools, student groups are designing their own programs, which will be showcased on the TDS web site, www.t-driver.com. The high school teams are planning a wide range of activities to spread this important safety message including poster contests, special presentations and assemblies, creating their own video and much more.
More than 6,000 teens die every year in traffic crashes in the United States – the number one cause of death, by far, for this age group.
“That’s the equivalent of a commercial jet loaded with teenagers crashing to the ground every week for an entire year,” says Russell Henk, a TTI Research Engineer and the Program Director for TDS. “But that’s not how these tragedies happen; they happen one or two at a time, which is why this problem isn’t getting the attention we believe it deserves. Teens in the Driver Seat intends to change that.”
The Garland Youth Council is an advisory board appointed by the Garland City Council to provide a forum which educates Garland’s youth to the various workings of City business, and allows youth to be a voice to address their particular ideas and concerns. For more information about the Garland Youth Council, log onto www.garlandyouthcouncil.org.
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