America’s first peer-to-peer safety program for young drivers t-driver.com

America’s firstpeer-to-peersafety programfor young drivers

t-driver.com

t-driver.com

Fatality Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles TraveledBeginner Driver Problem

16-year olds are far more likely to be involved in a fatal crash

0

2

4

6

8

16 17 18 19 20-24 25-59

Driver Age (Years)

Fata

lity

Rat

e

(Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2005)

t-driver.com

Too many teens are dying• Motor vehicle crashes are

the #1 killer of teens in America

• Car crashes account for 2% of all deaths in U.S.

• They account for 4 out of 10 teen deaths in the U.S.

(Source: NHTSA, 2007)

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The tragic toll

• About 5,000 teens per year killed in traffic crashes in U.S.

• 400 per year in Texas

(Source: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2007)

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Picture this

Like a commercial

airliner full of teens

crashing

every week,

for an entire year

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(Source: NHTSA)

Common misconception• Drinking and driving

involved in only 14% of 16-year old driver crashes

• Campaigns directed at this issue are missing 86% of the problem for this age group

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The highest risksDriver inexperience Coupled with following situations/conditions

● Driving at night/tired

● Speeding/racing

● Teen passengers

● Cell phones/texting

● Low seat belt use● Alcohol/drugs

(Source: National Safety Council, 2007)

Distractions

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The teenage brain

• Prefrontal cortex is last to develop

• Helps with reasoning and decision making

• Not fully developed until early 20s

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Driving at night

• 60% of teen crashes occur between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

• Driving visibility is significantly reduced at night

• Teens need more sleep - National Sleep Foundation recommends 9.25 hours

• Average teen in U.S. is getting 6.9 hours

• Fatigue has the same affect as being legally drunk

(Source: National Sleep Foundation, 2006 Study)

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Drowsy driving

• More than half of all fatigue related crashes involve young drivers

• 30% of teens report falling asleep in class at least once per week

• More than half of teens surveyed admit they have driven drowsy (Source: National Sleep Foundation, 2006 Study)

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Deadly distractions

• More teen fatal crashes occur when passengers (often other teens) are in the car. (Source: NHTSA, Teen Unsafe Driving Behavior: Focus Group Final Report, 2006)

• 2 out of 3 teens that died as passengers were in vehicles driven by other teens.

(Source: NHTSA, Teen Unsafe Driving Behavior: Focus Group Final Report, 2006)

• Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and tweens. (Source: CHOP, March 2008)

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Cell phone use & texting

• Drivers talking on a cell are 4 times more likely to be in a crash (Source: New England Journal of Medicine)

• Teens engage in complex, non-driving tasks more frequently than adults

(Source: VTTI 2009)

• Texting is the new DWI -“intexticated”

• Drivers who text are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash (Source: Cohen & Graham,

2003)

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(Source: Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2009)

t-driver.com

(Source: Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2009)

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Safety belt use

• Teens wear their safety belts less than other drivers

(Source: NHTSA, Teen Unsafe Driving Behavior: Focus Group Final Report, 2006)

• Teens belt use in the back seat is about 40%

• More than half of teen drivers and passengers killed aren’t buckled up at the time of the crash (Source: NHTSA.gov, Youth Traffic Safety Statistics, 2008)

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Speeding

• A large percentage of teen crashes involve speeding (Source: NHTSA, Teen Unsafe Driving Behavior: Focus Group Final Report, 2006)

• About 50% of teen driver and passenger deaths occur in speed related crashes (Source: NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts, Graduated Driver Licensing System, January 2008)

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New Texas laws you should know…..

• Night driving, passengers now restricted for 1 year

• Talking/texting on cell prohibited for all under 18

• No cell use in school zones, regardless of age

• All drivers, passengers must buckle up – front or back

• Driving test required at end of driver ed. course

• DWI with child passenger – might lose license

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TDS as part of the solution

• Peer-to-peer program

• Increase awareness of teen driving risks

• Decrease the number of crashes for teen drivers

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Involving Teens is Critical

“Tell me something, and I’ll forget.

Show me something, and I may remember it.

Involve me, and I’ll understand.”

-- Chinese Proverb

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4 steps to saving lives• Identify TDS team members

• Find out what teens in your community know

• Share what they need to know

• Keep the program going

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Introduction to TDS program Questionnaire

Students develop action plan and

message strategy

Program activities

Messages received

Activity reported to TDS rep.

Activities continue

Questionnaire – measure progress

Student team awarded

How it works

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300+ high schools and 300,000+ teens reached to date

San AntonioYoakum

Beaumont

Tyler

Dallas

Odessa

El Paso

Corpus Christi

Lubbock

Austin

Laredo

Pampa

La Joya

Wichita Falls

Waco

Ft Worth

Bracketville

College Station

Brenaham

Houston

Mc Allen

Bronte

Taft

t-driver.com Areas interested in TDS

In addition: Qatar

t-driver.com TDS web site • Testimonials

• Short Stories

• Videos

• Posters

• Project ideas

• Order Forms

• Hot topics

• Contests

• Blog/comments section

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TDS tools• Web site: t-driver.com

• T-shirts and jerseys

• TV messages and radio spots

• TDS logo, artwork

• Downloadable posters

• How-to guide

• Promotional items

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Find out what teens know• Tool is provided to assess

awareness and driving behavior

• TTI provides data summary

• Useful for:

• Identifying students lacking awareness on dangers and risky driving behavior

• Changes in awareness and behavior (post-assessment)

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Official banner or make your own

TDS banners

Use the banner at…

• Sporting Events

• Concession Stands

• Cafeteria

• Library

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Need more?• Positive media coverage for your

school

• Contests with prizes

• Awards for completing the program

• Teen Advisory Board

• TDS Annual Meeting

• TDSer of the week

• SponStar Award

t-driver.com Teenage Knowledge of Highest Risks

TDS Pilot Project – San Antonio, 2002-2003

13

30

67

80

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Driving at Night

Speeding/racing

Other teens in vehicle

Drinking/Drugs

Awareness Before Awareness After

Source: Pre- and post-surveys at TDS pilot program school, n = 2,570

t-driver.com

How we compare to other states & U.S.• Change in teen drivers involved in fatal crashes for states

with a “Fair” GDL rating, 2002 to 2007:

• U.S. = - 14.1 %

• Florida = + 12.2 %

• Texas = - 33.0 %

t-driver.comTeen Traffic Fatality Trends and Benchmarks in Texas

533 540 548581

625 625

546504

482459 435

300

400

500

600

700

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008Year

16 to 19 year-old Texas drivers involved in fatal crashesFARS Data

1995 On- Road

Driving Test Removed

Parent Taught Driver Ed

Implemented

TDSImplemented

GDL Implemented

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Percent improvement in Texas Teen Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes by Age, 2002-2007

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Field studies• Wireless device use by

drivers: down 30%

• Seat belt use: up 14%

t-driver.com City of Garland Data

• Twelve Fatalities from 2002 -2006 (with No active TDS programs)

• One Fatality from 2006 to present (with active TDS programs) 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Pre -TDS, 2002-2006 Post -TDS, 2006 to Date

28%

16%

12

1

Percentage of all crashes involving teens

Number of teen fatalities in Garland

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Teen testimonials

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Program ContactsProgram Director Public AffairsRussell Henk Bernie Fette(210) 979-9411 (979) 845-2623r-henk@tamu.edu

b-fette@tamu.edu

SponsorsState Farm

of Texas