“The number one killer of teens is driving while distracted,” notes California Highway Patrol Officer Susan Withers, Mt. Shasta’s Public Affairs Officer. “At the national, state and local level, teens are considered the most at-risk population of drivers. Because they’re so technologically involved, teens often don’t have their minds or eyes on the road or their hands on the wheel.”
Even for the general population, the 2009 statistics about driving while distracted are bone-chilling. In 2009, 104 million collisions were caused by drivers using cell phones; 200,000 collisions were caused by drivers text-messaging, and 28% of all crashes nationwide were the direct result of driving while distracted.
In California, 135,000 citations were issued to drivers talking on their cell phones or text messaging. In 2008, in California alone, 30,000 parties were involved in accidents due to inattention to driving.
Cell phone use is the number one cause of accidents, according to Statewide Integrated Traffic Records Systems, which gathers data from collisions to track driving trends.
The CHP has identified three categories of distracted driving. Visual distraction, “eyes off the road,” means a driver is literally not looking at the road. “Just recently there was a local incident on South Old Stage,” noted Withers. “The driver had turned to look at her dogs in the back seat. She collided with a jogger and her two dogs. Luckily, it was not a fatal injury, but the jogger sustained broken bones.”
Cognitive distraction, “mind off the road,” means a driver’s mind is drifting, so the driver is not paying attention to driving the car nor to drivers on the road or potential hazards. Emotionally charged conversations are notorious for diverting focus from driving.
Manual distraction, “hands off” the wheel, means a driver, literally, is driving hands free. “Sometimes drivers drop something and reach down to pick it up. Or they may be holding their cell in their hands. Maybe it’s not up to their ear, but their hands are not on the wheel. By law, their hands have to be free,” comments Withers.
In response to incidents involving teen drivers, in 2007, John Hamm, the CEO for California Associated Highway Patrolmen, created Impact Teen Drivers, a new program specifically designed to address the driving challenges teen drivers face. “There is a high frequency of collisions which involve distracted variables before the collision. Distracted variables include anything that diverts the driver’s eyes or attention from the roadway while operating a motor vehicle. Teens, as a group, have a lot of distractions,” said Withers.
For immediate help with dealing with the problems teens face while driving, Withers suggests contacting Impact Teen Drivers’ national website, http://impactteendrivers.org, for educational videos, materials and information. “There is a lot more coming down the line just for our community,” Withers notes. “By mid-fall, we’re hoping to have several local education programs for teen drivers. Right now I’m working with the local schools to see what we can set up. I’m hoping to have some programs in place by October 17-23rd, National Teen Driver Safety Week.”
For all drivers, Withers stresses the importance of making single focus driving a priority. “We all have a lot going on in our lives,” she notes. “But paying attention to driving is life-saving. When we’re behind the wheel, we need to be present, totally and completely present. Our lives and the lives of everyone on the roads depend on it.”
|
|
|
“The number one killer of teens is driving while distracted,” notes California Highway Patrol Officer Susan Withers, Mt. Shasta’s Public Affairs Officer. “At the national, state and local level, teens are considered the most at-risk population of drivers. Because they’re so technologically involved, teens often don’t have their minds or eyes on the road or their hands on the wheel.”
Even for the general population, the 2009 statistics about driving while distracted are bone-chilling. In 2009, 104 million collisions were caused by drivers using cell phones; 200,000 collisions were caused by drivers text-messaging, and 28% of all crashes nationwide were the direct result of driving while distracted.
In California, 135,000 citations were issued to drivers talking on their cell phones or text messaging. In 2008, in California alone, 30,000 parties were involved in accidents due to inattention to driving.
Cell phone use is the number one cause of accidents, according to Statewide Integrated Traffic Records Systems, which gathers data from collisions to track driving trends.
The CHP has identified three categories of distracted driving. Visual distraction, “eyes off the road,” means a driver is literally not looking at the road. “Just recently there was a local incident on South Old Stage,” noted Withers. “The driver had turned to look at her dogs in the back seat. She collided with a jogger and her two dogs. Luckily, it was not a fatal injury, but the jogger sustained broken bones.”
Cognitive distraction, “mind off the road,” means a driver’s mind is drifting, so the driver is not paying attention to driving the car nor to drivers on the road or potential hazards. Emotionally charged conversations are notorious for diverting focus from driving.
Manual distraction, “hands off” the wheel, means a driver, literally, is driving hands free. “Sometimes drivers drop something and reach down to pick it up. Or they may be holding their cell in their hands. Maybe it’s not up to their ear, but their hands are not on the wheel. By law, their hands have to be free,” comments Withers.
In response to incidents involving teen drivers, in 2007, John Hamm, the CEO for California Associated Highway Patrolmen, created Impact Teen Drivers, a new program specifically designed to address the driving challenges teen drivers face. “There is a high frequency of collisions which involve distracted variables before the collision. Distracted variables include anything that diverts the driver’s eyes or attention from the roadway while operating a motor vehicle. Teens, as a group, have a lot of distractions,” said Withers.
For immediate help with dealing with the problems teens face while driving, Withers suggests contacting Impact Teen Drivers’ national website, http://impactteendrivers.org, for educational videos, materials and information. “There is a lot more coming down the line just for our community,” Withers notes. “By mid-fall, we’re hoping to have several local education programs for teen drivers. Right now I’m working with the local schools to see what we can set up. I’m hoping to have some programs in place by October 17-23rd, National Teen Driver Safety Week.”
For all drivers, Withers stresses the importance of making single focus driving a priority. “We all have a lot going on in our lives,” she notes. “But paying attention to driving is life-saving. When we’re behind the wheel, we need to be present, totally and completely present. Our lives and the lives of everyone on the roads depend on it.”
