100 deadliest days may be deadlier than ever

New AAA Foundation Research Finds Teen Driver Distraction Getting Worse, Not Better

SPECIAL REPORT – Over the past five years, more than 5,000 people have been killed in crashes involving teen drivers during the “100 Deadliest Days,” the period starting at Memorial Day when teen crash deaths historically climb.

Now, as the summer driving season gets underway, new research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reveals a disturbing trend that shows texting and using social media is on the rise among teen drivers – and they are more distracted than ever.

“Despite every effort being made to educate teens about the dangers of distracted driving, AAA research indicates that the message is just not getting through”, says Crissy Gray, AAA Charleston District Office Supervisor. “And, all too often, the consequences are deadly.”

The new research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (Teen Crash Causation Report, Phase II), is built on its previous study (Teen Crash Causation Report, Phase I) which examined almost 1700 teen driver crashes captured on video between August 2007 and July 2013. The current study includes more than 500 additional crashes between August 2013 and April 2015.

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Phase II of the study confirms that nearly 60 percent of teen crashes involve driver distraction.

However, it also revealed that among rear-end crashes, the average eyes off the road time significantly increased from 1.5 to 2.1 seconds, as did the duration of the longest glance, from 1.5 to 2.1 seconds.

Additionally, the percent of crashes in which the driver had no reaction prior to the crash NEARLY DOUBLED – from 13% in 2008 to 25% IN 2014.

Researchers also found that how teens use their cell phone when behind the wheel changed significantly over the course of the study. In the moments leading up to a crash, teens were more likely to be texting or looking down at the phone than talking on it.

This supports findings by Pew Research Center, which shows text messaging has become a key component in day-to-day interactions amongst teenagers. Fifty-five percent of teens spend time every day texting, sending an estimated 80 text messages per day.

“Teen drivers in the second phase of the study have likely been texting for a longer period of their lives than those in the first phase, giving them an even more dangerous sense of confidence in doing so behind the wheel” Gray says.

Additional findings:

• As before, the most frequent potentially-distracting behaviors were conversing or otherwise interacting with passengers and cell phone use
• The proportion of cell phone-related crashes that involved operating or looking at the cell phone, as opposed to talking/listening, increased significantly from the beginning of the study period to the end
• Passengers were present in 34% of all crashes
• Almost 85% of passengers were estimated to be ages 16-19
• Driver was conversing or otherwise interacting with passenger in 15% of crashes.
• The driver was engaged in cell phone use in 12% of crashes
• Visibly using a cell phone (operating/looking) in 9% of all crashes;
• Talking or listening to a cell phone in 3% of all crashes
• Cell phone use varied significantly by crash type:
• Operating/looking in 28% of road-departure crashes, talking/listening in additional 4.4%
• Operating/looking in 19% of rear-end crashes, talking/listening in additional 1%
• Least prevalent in single-vehicle loss-of-control crashes (most of these involved adverse weather or surface conditions)

Crashes for teen drivers increase significantly during the summer months because teens drive more during this time of year. Over the past five years during the “100 Deadliest Days”:

• An average of 1,022 people died each year in crashes involving teen drivers
• The average number of deaths from crashes involving teen drivers ages 16-19 increased by 16 percent per day compared to other days of the year
• This year’s new follow-up report from the AAA Foundation is part of the most comprehensive eight-year research project ever conducted into crash videos of teen drivers. In collaboration with researchers at the University of Iowa, the AAA Foundation analyzed the moments leading up to a crash in more than 2,200 videos captured from in-car dash cameras. The latest report compared new crash videos with those captured from 2007 -2012 and found consistent trends in the top three distractions for teens when behind the wheel in the moments leading up to a crash:
• Talking or attending to other passengers in the vehicle: 15 percent of crashes
• Talking, texting or operating a cell phone: 12 percent of crashes
• Attending to or looking at something inside the vehicle: 11 percent of crashes

“Every day during the summer driving season, an average of 10 people die as a result of injuries from a crash involving a teen driver” said Jurek Grabowski, Research Director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “This new research shows that distraction continues to be one of the leading causes of crashes for teen drivers. By better understanding how teens are distracted on the road, we can better prevent deaths throughout the 100 Deadliest Days and the rest of the year.”

Research by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that texting creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. A recent AAA Foundation survey shows that nearly 50 percent of teen drivers admitted they had read a text message or email while driving in the past 30 days. NHTSA’s National Occupant Protection Use Survey also shows that from 2007 to 2014, the percentage of young drivers seen visibly manipulating a hand-held device quadrupled.

“Most of the people injured or killed in crashes involving a teen driver are people other than the teen themselves,” Gray says. “We must continue to do everything we can to minimize the risk.”

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Keeping cell phones out of the hands of teen drivers is a top priority for AAA, which supported passage of Graduated Driver’s Licensing Laws here in West Virginia.

In fact, West Virginia has some of the most strict teen driving laws in the country which include passenger restrictions, teen wireless bans and text messaging bans.

In preparation for the “100 Deadliest Days”, AAA encourages parents to educate their teen about the dangers of distracted driving and monitor their actions behind the wheel.

Parents should have conversations early and often about the dangers of distraction. Additionally, parent can make a parent-teen driving agreement that sets family rules against distracted driving.

Of course, teaching by example and minimize distractions when driving is also recommended.

The travel organization also offers information at TeenDriving.AAA.com which has a variety of tools to help prepare parents and teens for the dangerous summer driving season. The online AAA StartSmart program also offers great resources for parents on how to become effective in-car coaches as well as advice on how to manage their teen’s overall driving privileges. Teens preparing for the responsibility of driving should enroll in a driver education program that teaches how to avoid driver distraction and other safety skills.

Established by AAA in 1947, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, publicly-supported charitable research and educational organization. Dedicated to saving lives and reducing injuries on our roads, the Foundation’s mission is to prevent crashes and save lives through research and education about traffic safety. The Foundation has funded over 300 research projects designed to discover the causes of traffic crashes, prevent them and minimize injuries when they do occur. Visit www.AAAFoundation.org for more information on this and other research.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 56 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com. Motorists can map a route, identify gas prices, find discounts, book a hotel and access AAA roadside assistance with the AAA Mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Learn more at AAA.com/mobile.