Decreasing Distracted Driving

As a parent, an exciting part of raising kids is the freedom they achieve with driving. Many states have actively worked to increase driver’s education time from one to three months to six to 18 months to allow young drivers to get more experience driving with parental supervision. Unfortunately, the freedom of driving puts teens on the road who haven’t yet mastered driving and have many distractions that catch their attention.  

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving including talking or texting on the phone; eating and drinking; talking to people in the vehicle; and  adjusting the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes the driver’s attention away from the task of safe driving.

In 2018, distracted driving claimed 2,841 lives and 400,000 people were estimated to be injured in crashes. Due to the growing statistics, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched three campaigns to increase awareness of distracted driving and reduce injuries and accidents. The campaigns are One Text or Call Could Wreck It All, Phone in One Hand-Ticket in the Other and U Drive. U Text. U Pay.

While distracted driving is happening more often, parents, educators, employers and teens play a key role to decrease it.

• Parents cannot be in the vehicle with young drivers all the time but having conversations and modeling good behavior is a great start to showing your teen the right things to do while driving.  During conversations, explain what distracted driving is, create strict phone and driving rules, and talk about the dangers of what could happen when driving distracted.
• Employers and educators can also help grow awareness in the workplace and at school by spreading the word on the dangers of distracted driving.
• Teens can encourage each other and take a pledge to never drive distracted.

Insurance carriers are also working with parents and guardians to make teen drivers the best they can by offering different online classes that give young drivers their best chance on the road. Some of these include DriversEd.com, Improv Driving School, iDriveSafely, and TeenSmart Driving. When young drivers have access to expand their knowledge, conversations on the risks, campaigns that bring common goals, and accountability of their peers, the pathway to safe roads will increase.

The AssuredPartners personal insurance specialists help clients understand how much automobile coverage they need to adequately protect themselves and others in the event of an accident. To learn more, visit AssuredPartners Personal Insurance.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration