Toyota and the U of M Transportation Research Institute launch Teen Driver Distraction Study is but one highlighted below.
Wayne Gerdes -
CleanMPG - Sept. 13, 2012
Safety is a priority at Toyota. Is it a priority with us?
Yesterday Toyota announced that it has teamed up with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) to conduct a major new study of 5,600 teens and adults. Results of the Teen Driver Distraction Study commissioned by the Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) in July 2012 will be released incrementally as data is analyzed.
This scientific study is based on a national telephone survey of newly licensed drivers between ages 16 to 18 and parents of drivers in the same age group. A portion of the sample is comprised of teens and parents from the same household, one of the first studies to examine teen and parent driving behaviors in the same family.
The study will examine teen attitudes toward frequently discussed risks, such as texting and driving, to help identify effective recommendations to keep teen drivers safe. It will also look at a range of risk factors that receive less attention but sometimes pose even greater threats to young drivers. In addition, the study will examine the role that parents, peer behavior and cognitive development play in driving behaviors and will also explore the impact of any gaps between parent expectations about teen driving and the reality of what teens report they do behind the wheel.
Beyond national findings, the study will include results from several metropolitan areas across the country, including Chicago, Houston, Long Island, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
Car Crashes Remain the Leading Cause of Teen Fatalities
Dr. Tina Sayer, CSRC Principal Engineer stated that per mile driven, teens are four times more likely than other drivers to be involved in a crash. “In-car distractions can increase that risk even more,” she said “By examining the actions and expectations of teens and parents around the country, we will be able to dig deeper into how a teen’s driving behaviors differ from what their parents feel they have helped instill. This will allow us to develop even stronger recommendations, help change risky behaviors and ultimately help make teens safer drivers.
The study delves into the motivations and attitudes of parents and teens that lead them to engage in distracting behaviors while driving. This in-depth look at families will add to our understanding of distracted driving by teens and will yield useful results for researchers world-wide who are focused on enhancing teen driver safety,”
Toyota complements this research with extensive safety education programs for young drivers and their parents as well as direct outreach to consumers, including:
- Toyota Driving Expectations, which provides hands-on, real world defensive driving courses that go far beyond what is taught in standard driver education courses
- Toyota Teen Driver, a national partnership with the Discovery Channel to bring critical safe driving information and activities directly into schools
- Additional teen safe driving partnerships with DoSomething.org and the National Safety Council.
Teen Driving Program(s)
Toyota established the free safe teen driving program in 2004 to supplement standard driving education courses with real-time opportunities to learn about defensive driving, the impact of distractions, and safe habits. The original 2.5-hour course involves both driving time and classroom discussions, and is unique for requiring the participation of a parent or guardian to support coaching within the family so they can continue to act as role models and teachers at home. Nearly 20,000 teens and parents have participated in the “On the Road” Toyota Driving Expectations program which was among the first to understand the importance of and include parents in safe driving programs for teen drivers.
New this year, National Hot Rod Association driver Erica Enders will headline interactive safe teen driver assemblies at 12 select Los Angeles area and Orange County high schools. Enders will share her experiences as the first woman to qualify No. 1 in the association’s Pro Stock Field and the importance of concentration while driving. “The Road Ahead” assembly also engages students with high-impact video and a hands-on driving simulator which demonstrates dangers of driver distractions.
Why Toyota used an NHRA driver to promote teen driver safety is beyond me???
The third prong of the program includes free safety clinics at select Toyota dealerships in the spring covering vehicle dynamics and safety features, defensive driving, distracted driving and the importance of vehicle maintenance. This program offers parents and teens an opportunity to learn safe driving tips by professional instructors in a non-sales environment inside their local Toyota dealerships.
Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Center Launches Seven New Projects and Four New Partnerships with Leading Academic and Research Institutions
At a Safety Research Forum in Washington yesterday, Toyota announced the expansion of its partner-based automotive safety initiative with the launch of seven new research programs in partnership with leading research institutions from across North America.
The seven new programs are being undertaken with four new partners; Stanford University, University of Toronto, University of California San Diego and Ohio State University.
The seven new projects bring the CSRC’s total research portfolio of joint research programs to twenty-six. Consistent with the Center’s overall research focus, the new projects examine the interaction of vehicle technology with drivers, study the ability of technologies to support driver awareness and behavior, and track the causes of brain injuries in teens.
The CSRC is now partnered in auto-safety research with sixteen research institutions and agencies across North America. The Center’s existing partners are; Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), George Washington University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, Transportation Active Safety Institute, University of Iowa, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Washtenaw Area Transportation Study, Wake Forest University, and Wayne State University.
The CSRC’s 2012 Safety Research Forum in Washington, DC provides policymakers, regulators, scientists, and others the opportunity to learn about and gain “hands-on” experience with the center’s ongoing research projects. The Forum was the CSRC’s second major technology demonstration for the public, having previously taken place at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor in September 2011.
New CSRC Research Programs
CHOP Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies (CChIPS), NHTSA and SAFER -- Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescents.
A season-long study of a youth ice hockey team to better understand the mechanisms of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in adolescents, the most common injury to children in vehicular accidents. Researchers will quantify the head impacts sustained during hockey to occurrences of mental deficiencies, and with access to Toyota’s Total HUman Model for Safety (THUMS), conduct a state-of-the-art analysis of head acceleration data to determine correlations between impacts and injury outcomes.
Stanford University -- Driver Vehicle Interface for Partially Intelligent Vehicles
A three-year project to develop a set of psychological principles that will guide the design of a driver vehicle interface that provides effective, real-time support for drivers of a partially intelligent vehicle (PIV). This research will culminate with the development of a driver vehicle interface for a fully operable automated vehicle to verify its effectiveness.
University of California San Diego -- Automated Tools for Naturalistic Driving Study Data Analysis for Driving Assessment
Research focused on developing systematic and automated tools for monitoring and analyzing driver behavior in full context, including the vehicle and environment, to better understand dangerous situations and to inform the design of effective counter-measures.
University of Iowa Aging Mind and Brain Initiative -- Measuring Use and Impact of In-Vehicle Technologies on Senior Driver Safety
A three-year study to determine how some senior drivers may have declining abilities relative to driving, potentially increasing driving risk, and how they may use in-vehicle technologies. It will help guide the development of new technologies, especially advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS), to help make them more appropriate and helpful for senior drivers.
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) -- CSRC Teen Driver Survey
A survey of 5,600 teens and adults to examine their distracting behaviors while driving, identify social norms for both teens and parents and develop effective recommendations to help change dangerous behaviors. This research will be presented to the scientific community and used to develop outreach programs.
University of Toronto -- Designing Feedback to Help Induce Safer Driving Behaviors
A three-year study to determine what types of feedback (individually and combined) are most effective in helping inhibit risky behaviors, when feedback can become a potential distraction, what types of individuals are more susceptible to feedback, how drivers adapt to feedback over time, and whether the safety benefits of feedback persist even when it is no longer available.
Virginia Tech, UMTRI, and Ohio State University -- Development of Standard LDW & LDP Test Method
A project to develop a detailed test procedure for Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) systems. This procedure will be used to evaluate the performance of two test vehicles, a Toyota and another make, equipped with the LDW and LDP systems.
As you can tell, Toyota has been a little busy with the “stuff” that matters to all of us…
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