In a recent survey commissioned by Ford Motor Company, many teens admitted to engaging in distracted driving activities while behind the wheel. A whopping 62 percent of 500 teen-age drivers admitted to being distracted by passengers in their vehicle. While 51 percent of teens surveyed said they use an .MP3 player or an iPod while driving, 42 percent said that their radio volume is so loud that they can’t hear nearby vehicles. Only 26 percent of 500 parents surveyed said that they use devices to enforce driving rules or cell phone usage with their teens.
Another area of note is that summertime is actually the most likely time for fatalities among teen drivers. Of the 1,000 parents and teens surveyed in the study, 66 percent inaccurately believed winter driving to be more dangerous. The Ford study used the latest statistics available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and found that there were 358 teen-aged driver fatalities in June, July and August of 2011. There were 271 during December, January and February.
An online Texas defensive driving course is available through Texas Drive Safe that can be taken by teens and parents to learn more about overcoming the dangers of distractions behind the wheel and become safer drivers. The driving safety course for Texas is also taken for traffic ticket dismissal and insurance discount purposes. Call 1-800-558-9887 for details.
