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Commotion, angst, fatigue reportedly plague adolescents behind the wheel. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15587338/)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Teen_Crash.JPGAP - Jan. 25, 2007

A distracted teen was behind the wheel of this P/U when the accident occured.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - More teenagers are heeding warnings about drinking and driving, but they routinely face behind-the-wheel distractions from mobile phones to passengers that contribute to thousands of fatal crashes every year, according to a study released Thursday.

Teens often take the wheel amid commotion, angst or fatigue that would be challenging even for older drivers, said Dr. Flaura Winston, chief investigator for the study.

“We need to go beyond the message of drinking and driving and also talk about the message of distractions,” said Winston, a pediatrician with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The study by the children’s hospital and State Farm Insurance Co., the nation’s largest auto insurer, asked high school students what happens when their peers drive that makes them unsafe. The 2006 survey of more than 5,600 students was a scientific sampling of the 10.6 million students in public high schools across the U.S.

Ninety percent of teens said they rarely or never drive after drinking or using drugs, reflecting a trend that has seen teen traffic deaths involving alcohol drop by about 35 percent from 1990 to 2005, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

But teens reported a host of other in-car distractions that researchers say help make traffic accidents the No. 1 killer of U.S. teens, with a fatality rate four times higher than drivers aged 25-69, based on miles driven. About 5,600 teens died in traffic accidents in 2005, and about 7,500 were driving cars involved in fatal accidents.

‘They’re pretty inexperienced’

Researchers found that one teenage passenger with a teen driver doubles the risk of a fatal crash, while the risk is five times higher when two or more teens ride along. Most states have laws restricting passengers when teens drive, but 15 states do not.

Nearly 90 percent of teens reported seeing peers drive while talking on cell phones and more than half spotted drivers using hand-held games, listening devices or sending text messages.

About 75 percent said they see teens driving while tired or struggling with powerful emotions, such as worries about grades or relationships. More than nine of 10 teens also reported seeing teen drivers speeding and half said they sometimes drive at least 10 mph over posted speed limits themselves.

“The environment for a teen driver is much more challenging and demanding than most of us adults thought. They’re trying to manage all of that while trying to navigate the vehicle at the same time and they’re pretty inexperienced at that,” said Laurette Stiles, vice president of strategic resources at Bloomington-based State Farm.

Researchers say they will use the study to push for legislation such as stricter requirements for graduated drivers licenses, which can include mandated supervised driving with parents, night driving curfews and passenger restrictions.

The study’s conclusions also will be shared with schools and parents, who can use them to warn teens about the potential hazards of driving, said Winston, who founded the children’s hospital’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention.

CNN also repors on this > http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/25/teen.driving.ap/index.html

Please hear me out - teen drivers may be more dangerous than ever due to increased distrations and what they are driving these days. It's common knowledge males under 25 are the riskiest drivers. Add to that cell phones and friends that encourge them to do reckless things. On top of that consider that many of them are driving older pickups and SUV probably not in the best condition - sometimes driving like a sports car - not good.

There is no question that most teenagers are easily distracted when driving. All they need is a phone, a radio, or a friend in the car, and barely any attention is paid to the road. They don't see the danger of being distracted because they think nothing bad can possibly happen to them anyway.

CA added 2 rules in 2006: For the first year teens may not drive between 11 pm and 5 am unless accompanied by an adult. (With exceptions for a job, school and emergencies.) Also for the first year they cannot drive other teens without an adult in the car.

There may be something to the incentives that auto insurance companies give teens for good grades. If you have the self-discipline to focus every night to do the required work and get A's, then you're also likelier to focus on your driving and what's happening around you.

There's this kid at my school who drives a fully-loaded, red, Hemi-powered 2006 Dodge Ram Quad Cab and since he's owned it he's almost gotten me into an accident twice just because he likes to show off. Once was in a parking lot when he parked into a space and then decided he wanted to leave just as I was simultaneously passing him to leave the parking lot. He almost broadsided me and blamed me for it.

The second time I was driving on Route 7 North leaving East Middlebury and there's this one road to the side of Route 7 which intersets just like an on-ramp in an interstate. The people on Route 7 stay in the left lane while those entering stay on the right in order to merge. Well, Mom was in the car with me and here I meet the kid in his Ram trying to get ahead of me from the other road. I get ahead of him, and then he just floors it and passes me on the left side of the road with traffic in the other lane, causing me to almost crash. I didn't know his truck was so powerful that he could spin his tires at 50. Until that day, anyways.

He gets less than 10 MPG by the way he drives, so at least he's paying for his bad driving. :D

But about cell phones... I myself have owned a cell phone for the past few months, and I only call my mother on it when I need to, so I rarely use it. Yet one day I tried calling her as I was driving down this empty straight road, and I couldn't even see the buttons well. I didn't bother to call after that. That's why I now call in the parking lot and then drive once I'm finished talking. Heck, I'll even call as I'm walking towards the car to save time. I've never had the urge to call someone in general just to go, "Hi, how ya' doin'?"

It's just so difficult to hold onto the phone as you're using your turn signals, steering, etc. And I can't imagine if someone drives a car with a manual transmission. In a way I think drivers who use a stick-shift are actually safer because they're much less likely to sip on a soda or eat a hamburger or talk on the cell phone if they also have to shift.

I remember reading one article about a kid who hit a Ferrari with his Ford F-150 and crashed into a Hummer just because someone called him and he lost control... ending up with over $250,000-worth of damages. Talk about an expensive phone call. Snopes.com has a picture of the accident which was used in some recent false emails.

Edit: Here in Vermont they have a gradual licensing program. When I was 15, I took a 20-question written test and I got a "learner's permit" which allowed me to drive as long as a licensed driver over 25 (unimpaired) is in the front seat. I had that for a year, and when I was 16 I took a driving test with a friendly female instructor. I got my "Junior Operator's License" after only three points were taken off. For the first three months of owning the license, I could either drive alone or have a driver over 25 (unimpaired) in the front seat (in order to allow non-drivers to ride in the car). There were no gray areas. Because my mother doesn't drive, I had to have my father sit in the front seat every time she needed a ride somewhere.

After three months, I could either drive alone or have close family members ride in the car alone with me. For example, I could give Mom rides to work without needing Dad to go along with me, I could have a half-brother or half-sister, Uncle, Aunt, etc.

Then after the sixth month and onwards, I could have anyone in the car. I no longer have any restrictions because, for one thing, I've had it for two years now. Should get an adult license once I turn 18 next month.

A similar graduated license program was instituted right as I was learning to drive in MA. I had my permit for 6 months starting at age 16, then after taking a driver's ed class I was able to take the road test and get the Junior Operator's License at 16 1/2. For six months I could drive immediate family alone, but I needed a licensed experienced driver (probably over 25 but it might have been 21) to take any friends with me. And no driving between the hours of midnight and 5AM until I turned 18.

At the time it annoyed me bacause my class of drivers was the first to have to deal with these restrictions. But in hindsight I think it was a real benefit. When I was in the car I did one thing: drive the car. My only distraction was the radio, as I did have a cell phone but never really used it except in times of urgent need. I was also driving a 5-speed which made it impossible to do anything else with my hands. (I, too, really think that driving a stick makes you a better driver in the end. It forces you to be much more involved in the car...it's almost like a safety interlock between the mind and the drivetrain.)

Then again, people in my high school still died as a result of auto accidents. One kid a class or two behind me was killed almost immediately after his parents bought him a brand new Pontiac Grand Prix. Apparently he was doing 90 down a back road as he approached a "T" intersection and couldn't slow down in time to negotiate it. The one witness said he saw a quick flash of brake lights (this was at night) and then nothing. He went head-on into a tree at about 80 and was killed instantly. Nobody knows what he was thinking and nobody ever will.

Even today I am accused of ignoring passengers while I drive. They ask me a question, I don't respond, they ask me again...oh, yeah, you guys are still there. Doesn't bother me. At the same time it's not like tuning out to passengers and cell phones makes you immune. For me, the biggest distraction is the stuff going on in my own head. Once in a while I'll be thinking about something and realize that I shouldn't be because I've completely forgotten what I was doing. Driving for fuel efficiency has helped, that, though. The planning ahead aspect forces you to keep your head in the game.

Hi Tim:

___That was one of the best posts I have ever read!

___Excellerator, nice job in keeping your head in the game as you have been doing all of us a favor by doing so. The Chevrolet Canyon pictured above is my nephew’s and thank god he and his GF walked away with little in the way of injury …

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wisconsin's GDL system works similarly, but it includes extention of your restriction period if you get ANY traffic violation during the probationary period. The real problem is that getting a license in the first place is way too easy. The 30-hour classroom instruction is a joke, using the cliche 1980's safety videos (you can tell by the cars featured) and at the on the road test you are still allowed 22 points off (i got 9). By now I am out of the restriction period despite having one speeding ticket (gliding from a 45 to a 25) that extended the period 6 months.

I see tons of people who drive recklessly in anything from a beat up Neon, or Camry, to the Mustang GTs and Taurus SHOs everday, and yet my Insight still gets around the lot unscathed. I wouldn't drive around in anything besides the Insight, it has the torque to get out of the way, maneuverability to dart out of danger, plus it's a manual and seats only 2. I actually feel more distracted and isolated in the minivan and when there aren't any hypermiling techniques keeping me thinking about what to prepare for.