National Teen Research Center

Blacksburg, Va., July 27, 2009 –Several large-scale, naturalistic driving studies (using sophisticated cameras and instrumentation in participants’ personal vehicles) conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), provide a clear picture of driver distraction and cell phone use under real-world driving conditions. Combined, these studies continuously observed driversfor more than 6 million miles of driving. A snapshot of risk estimates from these studies is shown in the table below. “Given recent catastrophic crash events and disturbing trends, there is an alarming amount of misinformation and confusion regarding cell phone and texting use while behind the wheel of a vehicle. The findings from our research at VTTI can help begin to clear up these misconceptions as it is based on real-world driving data. We conduct transportation safety research in an effort to equip the public with information that can save lives,” says Dr. Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. read more...

	Cell Phone Task	Risk of Crash or Near Crash event
	Light Vehicle/Cars
	Dialing Cell Phone	2.8 times as high as non-distracted driving
	Talking/Listening to Cell Phone	1.3 times as high as non-distracted driving
	Reaching for object	1.4 times as high as non-distracted driving
	Heavy Vehicles/Trucks
	Dialing Cell Phone	5.9 times as high as non-distracted driving
	Talking/Listening to Cell Phone	1.0 times as high as non-distracted driving
	Use/Reach for electronic device	6.7 times as high as non-distracted driving
	Text messaging	23.2 times as high as non-distracted driving

Prior to launching the teen driving program, The Allstate Foundation closely examined the problem by working with a diverse panel of expert advisors, and evaluating existing programs and available crash data. The Foundation also commissioned original research on teen attitudes toward driving through a national survey of 1,000 15- to 17-year-old teens.

Evidence from this wealth of sources suggests that we won’t see a reduction of teen deaths associated with driving until safe-driving efforts aimed at teens address the social causes of unsafe driving behavior. The research also suggests that a multi-pronged approach to change teen misperceptions and attitudes, in particular the peer-to-peer dynamics often involved in driving, may be part of the solution.
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Research conducted by Dr. Don Fisher indicates that newly licensed drivers have particular difficulties identifying areas of a scenario from which hidden risks could emerge. Standard driver education programs do not appear to address these difficulties adequately. This suggests that some alternative form of driver training could reduce the crashes, either in the classroom or on the road. A PC-based program designed to teach novice drivers to recognize risks is shown to improve their awareness of hazards, both on an advanced driving simulator and on the road.

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