Those of you with keen powers of observation may have noted that I have not posted very many new items this month. Well, that is because for National Teen Driver Safety Week, October 20-25, I was invited three times to submit a guest post on other national blogs: BeCarChic (a Washington, D.C. based group of all-things-automobiles), IKnowEverything (run by the Century Council, an association of the distiller businesses), and today the National Safety Council. I am honored to have been asked to do so. Links to the three guests posts are below (so we will count this as three posts!):

BeCarChic: http://bit.ly/1fGVlwi

IKnowEverything: http://www.centurycouncil.org/blog/2013/tim-hollister-5-pointers-parents-teen-drivers

National Safety Council:

http://teensafedriving.org/blog/guest-post-two-mothers-dilemmas-with-safe-teen-driving/

At recent national traffic safety conferences and events, I have gotten to know Jaime Alvis, Director of Government Relations and Traffic Safety for The Century Council, a national association of distilled spirits companies. I have come to understand, appreciate and applaud their IKnowEverything Program, which focuses on drunk and distracted driving. In connection with National Teen Driver Safety Week, I am pleased to pass along the following information about the program:

Since October 20-26, 2013 is National Teen Driver Safety Week, The Century Council, along with the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, International Association of Chiefs of Police Foundation, National Organizations for Youth Safety, and the National Sheriffs’ Association, is proud to share a dynamic teen driver safety program, IKnowEverything! Developed to prepare teens to be safe when they get behind the wheel, IKnowEverything is an integrated effort that highlights the issues of drunk driving and distracted driving, and reiterates to parents that they have the most influence on their teen’s driving behaviors.

We all know teens are overly confident and think they’re invincible – particularly when they get into the driver’s seat. The IKnowEverything program includes an engaging, fast-paced animated video featuring a teen’s voiceover that suggests that teens “Know Everything” like:

• I know not to drink alcohol and drive, it’s dangerous, illegal and just plain stupid.

• I know not to text and drive.

• I know my parents can take away my keys anytime.

• I know I need to pay attention 100% of the time while driving.

Take a look at the IKnowEverything infographic and suggested tweets for the week. Also, stay tuned in your state for PSAs with our nation’s Members of Congress who discuss with The Century Council Ambassador Aly Raisman how parents should talk to their teens about safe driving and watch the IKnowEverything video together with their teen!

Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut is known as the premiere auto racing facility in the Northeast. It is home to the Skip Barber Racing School and a 1.5 mile track that draws racing enthusiasts from all over the world.

My involvement with safe teen driving has brought me into contact with many people with whom I would otherwise probably never have become acquainted. One is John Berger, of West Hartford, who is an avid amateur race car driver and instructor. Along with Bob Green from Survive the Drive, a wonderful program that brings a safe teen driving message to high schools, John invited me to a Saturday at Lime Rock, attending a class on race car dynamics and then taking a demonstration drive around the track.

As I was driving to Lime Rock, it occurred to me that I was going to show up at a famous auto racing center — with license plates that say “NS Fast.” Yikes.

I sat in on an advanced class for drivers who were about to go out on the track. I learned about the value if keeping your eyes on the horizon and on where you want the car to go, because the car goes where you are looking. Then, John took me out on the track in a 650 horsepower Corvette. It was my first time in a race car, and I told him that I did not need to go “too fast.” He accommodated me — we only got up to about 110-115.

OK, the first lap I was terrified, the second lap a bit better but still foreseeing the car flying off the track into outer space. It was only as I observed John’s calm, smooth, steady handling of the car that I started to, if not relax, understand the beauty of watching a real pro take a powerful car though paces on a track with lots of turns, slopes and hills.

And that, I think, was the point of John’s kind invitation: that high performance driving skills can be learned and applied to everyday driving. That anyone can learn how to make sure that a car’s weight is sufficiently distributed that it does not skid. In one sense, I learned the opposite of what Reid’s car did (go into an uncontrolled and then fatal skid) by seeing how a well-driven car does not skid.

The photo below, me with the car in which I rode, belies my still churning stomach. But I am grateful to my hosts for the opportunity to visit Lime Rock, and to see up close the dynamics of a highly skilled driver and to learn more about the kind of driving skills that, if more people learned them, would make all of us safer.

I am pleased today to provide a guest post by Kelly Larsen of IDriveSafely, an online driving school based in Carlsbad, California.

The Passenger Problem: How Driving Peers Affects Teens

They’ve turned 16, they’ve passed their driving test—and now they’ve got their driver’s license! Your teen will no doubt want to exercise their new freedom as soon as possible, and this typically involves showing off their independence to their friends. But be wary: studies show that teen driving is negatively impacted when peers are in the car with them.

In one study conducted by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm, 677 teen drivers involved in serious car accidents were analyzed. Among those who stated that they were distracted by something inside the vehicle before the crash, 71% of male teens and 47% of female teens reported that they were directly distracted by the actions of their passengers.

In addition, when male teen drivers had passengers in the vehicle with them, they were nearly 6 times more likely to perform an illegal maneuver – and more than twice as likely to drive aggressively right before a crash – than male teens who were driving alone. With findings like these, it’s clear that having passengers in the car poses real dangers for teen drivers.

The good news is that most states have a restriction on passengers for new teen drivers as part of their Graduated Driver Licensing laws: according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 47 states and Washington D.C. impose restrictions on the number of passengers that new teen drivers may transport.

A common rule is that drivers may not carry passengers for the first 6-12 months after getting their driver’s license. Many specify that teens may not drive individuals under the ages of 21 or 18. And when you look at the research, it makes sense why.

It’s an unfortunate truth, but younger passengers are often a major source of distraction for teens. When their friends are in the car, teens tend to feel overconfident, and therefore more likely to drive aggressively or participate in driving behaviors that are unsafe, such as playing music loudly or texting behind the wheel.

Even with laws in place, it’s important that parents play a role in making sure their teens don’t have passengers when they shouldn’t. Even after the restriction period is up, young drivers may not be ready to handle the distraction that comes with driving others. Talk to your teen, and come to an agreement on rules for having friends in the car. After all, driving is a huge responsibility, and when it comes to teen driver safety, you can never be too careful.

About the Author:

Kelly Larsen is a copywriter for I DRIVE SAFELY, the nation’s number one provider of online traffic school and driver’s education. With over 10 years’ experience in the field of safe driving, I DRIVE SAFELY has provided exceptional online courses to millions of new drivers, drivers looking to handle a traffic ticket and clear their diving record, or drivers looking to save money on auto insurance. To find out more or sign up, please visit http://www.idrivesafely.com/.

Links:

In one study - http://www.chop.edu/news/teen-passengers-the-other-distraction-for-teen-drivers.html

Governors Highway Safety Association - http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/license_laws.html