Two new studies support the efforts of states in imposing restrictions on teen driving.

Teens who drive with peers as passengers have increased risks of crashing, previous research has shown. Many states have responded by creating graduated driver licensing laws that include limits on the number of passengers teen drivers can have.

Now two new studies in the latest Journal of Adolescent Health reviewed key factors shown to influence teen driving behaviors: perception of driving risks, parental monitoring and the presence of peer passengers. Both studies have results that support the role of teen driver licensing restrictions and parental oversight as effective methods to prevent teen driver accidents.

Teen drivers with a stronger awareness of risks and with parents who monitor their whereabouts and set rules engage in less risky driving behavior, according to the first study.

The second study showed that teen passengers distract both male and female teen drivers, and are linked to aggressive or illegal driving by male teen drivers.

Researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia led both studies. This center also issued a report last year on the widespread impact of teen driving crashes.

The first study researched how sensation seeking or risk taking, risk perception and parental monitoring and rule setting affected a teen’s likelihood of risky driving and driving with multiple peer passengers. The researchers surveyed 198 teens aged 15 to 17 in two states with graduated driver license laws. They found that higher sensation seeking, lower risk perception and less parental monitoring predicted teens’ risky driving, and having multiple peer passengers increased that risk.

“The good news is that most of the teens in the study reported being aware of the risks of driving dangerously,” said lead author Jessica Mirman, Ph.D.

The second study analyzed a nationally representative sample of 677 drivers aged 16 to 18 who were involved in serious crashes. Findings from on-scene crash investigations revealed that both male and female teen drivers were more susceptible to distractions with passengers in the car.

In addition, boys with multiple passengers were more likely to drive aggressively or perform illegal maneuvers in the moments before a crash when they had passengers than they were when driving alone.

“Distraction from peer passengers appears to play a prominent role for both male and female drivers,” said Allison E. Curry, Ph.D., MPH, director of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Core at the Center and lead author on this study. “One in five females and one in four males who were driving with friends were distracted by something inside the vehicle just before they crashed.”

Passengers affected boys and girls in different ways. Boys were more prone to crash due to speeding or reckless driving while girls were more apt to crash because of distractions such as looking at their friends, eating, texting or using their cell phones, said Jeffrey Weiss, M.D., pediatric hospitalist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics on teen driving issues.

Graduated driver licensing laws vary by state, Weiss said. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia restrict young drivers from driving at night, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Forty-five states and D.C. restrict the number of their passengers. These laws have reduced the incidence of crashes among teen drivers, said Weiss.

“The $64,000 question about graduated driver’s licensing rules is, ‘Why do they work?’” Weiss noted. “We’ve shown that they work, but is it because of the passenger restriction or the night restriction or a combination of both? Is it because of parental education?” Some of the beneficial effect might be because some teens wait to drive until they can get a full license without restrictions, he added.

Source: Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health.

Preliminary statistics show that traffic accidents killed 11 people ages 16 to 20 between Jan.1 and Jan. 24. Three teens died in traffic accidents during the same period in 2011.

Mary King with Youth of Virginia Speak Out says in a news release that the increase is significant. Her group and the Blue Ridge Regional Crash Investigation Team are seeking to raise awareness of the issue and to encourage teen drivers to be safety-conscious.

The groups also are asking parents to monitor their children’s driving and set clear rules.

Scosche cellCONTROL is a safe driving system that disables the use of unsafe cell phone applications while driving. Innovative Bluetooth signaling blocks drivers from being able to text message, email, make phone calls and much more. This safe driving system activates automatically when the vehicle is in motion to create a safe driving environment for everyone on the road.

Safer Driving Starts Here
cellCONTROL uses a simple one-time setup to keep the designated mobile device disabled every time the car is in motion. First, activate the safe driving system online. Then, download the app onto the mobile device. The last step is to install the trigger unit into your vehicle standard OBD-II interface.

Blocks Unsafe Applications
Once setup is complete, the safe driving system is ready to use. Email, texting, internet, camera and other apps will immediately be blocked once the vehicle is in motion. Use of the phone application will also be blocked – unless a handsfree headset is detected by your mobile device. This is the perfect solution for young drivers, fleet workers and anyone who is using their cell phone unsafely while driving.

Easy to Use
This tamper-free safe driving system is not only simple to set up, by continues to be easy to use. Reports of removal, deactivation or other misuse are sent by text or email to a designated administrator. It never needs to be re-installed and will continue to activate whenever the vehicle is in motion to block the use of unsafe applications.

Incredible Compatibility
Innovative Bluetooth communication and cellCONTROL software works with over 1,200 cell phones. Any vehicle sold in the United States in 1996 and after will include an OBD-II interface and will be ready to use with the safe driving trigger.

Works with
Operating Systems:
All Android 2.1 and above, all BlackBerry 4.5 and above, all Windows Mobile 5 & 6, all Symbian S60 (3rd Edition) and select Brew and BREWMP systems*.

Manufacturers
RIM, HTC, Samsung, Sanyo, Motorola, Nokia, Pantech, LG, Palm, Sony Ericsson and more*

Service Providers
Works with all US wireless carriers (data plan required)

Autmobiles
Works with any vehicle sold in the Unites State in 1996 and after.

Don’t leave your wipers in the “off the glass” position,” unless you prefer clearing your windshield with Popsicles

Don’t poor hot water onto any icey surface (unless you needed a new windshield…thick “Crack”!!!)

Don’t try to pry your wipers off the windshield (unless you wanted to buy new wipers…thick rip!!!!)

Don’t hammer or bang on you windows to get the ice to “break” away!!!”

Don’t scrape with anything that is softer than what you are scraping against…thick plastic versus metal, (think permanent scratch!!!!)

For those of us who’s cars get to spend the night outdoors, during the winter months, (up North,) there is the potential to wake up to a snow-covered vehicle…If you were lucky enough to have been driving just before the precipitation started, you might have ice formations on you windscreen, (windshield,) and windows.

Before you go out and buy de-icer, or get your salt shaker, or even better, a pot of hot water, take a deep breath, and grab a cup of coffee, tea, milk, OJ…something to buy some distraction!  If it has snowed, brush off the driver’s door area, before entering.  If you want to sit in a pile of melting snow, during your commute, feel free to just op in and start your car.  Make sure the parking brake is set…Turn on your heat and set your fan to high.  Some experts recommend turning on your defrost…this will force the air onto the windscreen, albeit cold air.  Set your air to re-circulate to speed up the procees of warming up your car’s interior. (Heated do not effect the ambient temperature much, and at this point, you are getting out of the car, as sitting inside will only cause potential condensation/foggy windows.

Snow is a pretty good insulator…there is no real rush to brush it off.   It will help the car to warm-up faster.  Do make sure that it isn’t so deep that your exhaust/muffler is blocked!

If there isn’t snow, wait for the first signs of melting.  If the outside air is below 20, this may take a while.  If you set the controls to “defrost,” within 5 minutes, you’ll start to see areas where the airstream is hitting the windshield begin to melt.  This is not a sign to get into your car and drive away.  We have all seen, if not been seen,  people trying to navigate looking through the small areas, before the glazing is fully defrosted…not safe.

Some people like to leave their windshield wipers off the windshield when inclement is predicted.  Too many times, this results in icicle wipers, often frozen in the upright position.  With this in mind, drivers are trying to prevent the wipers from being frozen against the glass.  These same people are probably the ones who have ripped their wipers by not allowing the defrosting scenario to run its course.  It is possible for the wiper hinge to freeze in the upright position…when this happens, you are in another predicament…

As you keep warm, sipping your coffee, look for signs of melting…typically less than 10 minutes…Now, you can start with the snow removal…and eventually the ice.  If you decide to “rush” the process by throwing hot water onto your car, watch-out for increased ice or shattered glass.  If you want to use vinegar, or de-icer, (water and vinegar,) enjoy the smell…salt-water?  enjoy the corrosion/scratches.

As with everything, a little patience, with some common sense, goes along way.  Respect the fact that there are many engineers and manufacturers who have given this a lot of thought.  For those with vintage cars, find a garage, or cover…your problem will then be keeping the ice off the inside of the glass! (Topic for another post…)

Just because it was vetoed, doesn’t negate the facts…More supervised practice and instruction leads to safer driver habits…

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie Tuesday put the brakes on legislation that would have required teenage drivers to clock an additional six months of practice time before getting a license, while forcing their parents to take an orientation course about their new, young drivers.

“I’m grateful not to have to go through more red tape with my kids,” said Toni Kaufmann of Denville, whose son, Joseph, earned his driver’s license this month, and whose daughter, Alexandra, just began training. “How long do you have to let your kid drive you around?”

The driving bill, which would have affected about 100,000 teenage drivers and their white-knuckled parents in the passenger seat, was among 42 measures that Christie chose not to take up — an action known as a “pocket veto.”

In the 50 years since US insurers organized the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, car crashworthiness has improved. Demonstrating this was a crash test conducted on Sept. 9 between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. In a real-world collision similar to this test, occupants of the new model would fare much better than in the vintage Chevy.

Another Institute milestone was the 1992 opening of the Vehicle Research Center. Since then, the Institute has conducted much of the research that has contributed to safer vehicles on US roads. At the anniversary event, current Institute chairman Gregory Ostergren of American National Property and Casualty summed up a commitment to continue what fellow insurers began in 1959: “On this golden anniversary of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, we celebrate this organization’s accomplishments toward safer drivers, vehicles, and roadways. We salute the vision of the Institute’s founders and proudly continue their commitment to highway safety.”

Sponsored by National Risk Solutions
Drunk Driver Test? There’s an App for That
January 4, 2012

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A drunken driving test may not seem the likeliest place to come up with a mobile phone app, but that’s when inspiration struck Nashville, Tennessee resident Clay Bradley.

Bradley said he was following a policeman’s pen with his eyes when it dawned on him that a smart phone could be used for the same purpose.

He mentioned his idea to some friends, and they came up with BreathalEyes. The 99-cent app, which launched in November, can be used to measure involuntary eye movements when people are intoxicated, which is one method police use in field sobriety tests.

Bradley said people can use the app to help determine whether they’ve had too much to drink to drive.

He said the app uses the iPhone’s camera and scans a person’s eyes to find the “horizontal gaze nystagmus,” which is the involuntary eye jerking that occurs when a person is intoxicated.

“It takes a series of photographs to detect and analyze HGN, then estimates the user’s blood alcohol content,” Bradley said.

He let the idea simmer for over a year before telling his friend Russell Ries.

“This was really appealing to me because I am a recovering alcoholic,” says Ries, adding he has been sober since March 26, 2008. “I know firsthand that any little bit of information you can put in front of somebody’s face to help them make smarter decisions, especially people who have a tendency to abuse alcohol, can help.”

The two men then approached friend, Robert Andrews. He, too, was intrigued by the proposal.

“It sounded like a great idea, so I invested in some research and development,” Andrews said. “Then we eventually all decided to become partners, and I invested some more money into it, and now we have all sort of coalesced into a true partnership.”

The men said that their app is backed by science and when downloaded can detect a user’s blood-alcohol content with an effective range of between .02-.17 percent.

In Tennessee, a first offense DUI can lead to the loss of a license, classes, fines and legal fees of more than $4,000 and jail time.

“At no point will the app say, `Yes you can drive, no you shouldn’t drive,”’ Ries said. “We feel ultimately that decision falls on the person. But if we can give them something to help them make a smarter decision, that is what we want to try and do.”

As the North American International Auto Show kicks off in Detroit, TIME and Dan Neil, Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive critic and syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times, look at the greatest lemons of the automotive industry More »

Drivers in various states around the country will need to be aware of some new driving laws that affect seat belts and cell phone use that go into effect on January 1st.

California has a new child restraint law aimed at further protecting children. All children age 7 and under who are less than 4 feet, 9 inches tall are required to be in a booster seat placed in the rear seat. This law replaces the previous one in which booster seats were only required for children under 6 years of age and 60 pounds.

Also, on January 1st, Illinois will strengthen their seat belt law by requiring the use of seat belts for all passengers in front and rear seats. This new law replaces the previous legislation that only required the driver, front seat passenger, and passengers under the age of 19 to wear a seat belt.

Besides seat belts, there are some stronger distracted driving laws going into effect as well.
Nevada has implemented a new law that will ban hand-held cell phone use and texting while driving in the state and this also includes using a hand-held phone while stopped at a light or in traffic. Drivers are allowed to use a hands-free device such as a Bluetooth. In addition, this offense is now primary, which means police can ticket drivers for those offenses alone.

North Dakota will ban cell phone use for young drivers under age 18 and has increased their graduated licensing requirements. Driver’s under 16 must hold a learner’s permit for a year until they can get a full license and have at least 50 hours of supervised driving time.

Further in 2012, Pennsylvania’s texting law will go into effect on March 8th and it will be a primary offense.

For more on distracted driving and teen safety, see our special section.

—Liza Barth