New Study Finds High Rates Of Distracted Driving in Teens

March 28, 2012

Inexperienced teen drivers are at a high risk of causing an accident, but a new study is offering more details into what else may be causing some of these accidents. An article released by WGRZ 2 News says that many teen drivers are distracted by electronic devices.

The study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety was culminated from data collected from 50 North Carolina families with teen drivers. Video cameras were mounted inside the teens’ vehicles, which allowed researchers to observe the teens during their first six months of unsupervised time behind the wheel. A total of 7,858 clips were analyzed in order to produce conclusions.

Researchers found that teen girls were twice as likely as boys to use an electronic device, such as a cell phone, while driving and were 10 percent more likely to engage in other distracting activities. Boys were almost twice as likely to turn around in their seat while driving and more likely to communicate with others outside the vehicle. Drivers were six times as likely to be involved in a crash if a loud conversation was occurring in the vehicle.

The New York Car Accident Lawyers with William Mattar Injury Lawyers say that parents should be involved to keep teens safe from distracted driving. Lead by example by putting your phone down behind the wheel and by discussing the dangers of distractions while driving with your children.