Car crashes are the number-one killer of Americans under the age of 25, and alcohol use stands out as one of the most common contributors to these crashes. In an effort to reverse this alarming trend, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) developed a peer-driven outreach program focused on this high-risk group. The program is modeled after TTI’s successful Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) program, a peer-to-peer safety program for America’s youth that has been implemented in more than 500 Texas high schools.

A review of crash statistics in Texas illustrates the severity of the impaired driving problem for young people.

• Across Texas in 2011, drivers under the age of 25 were responsible for 21 percent of all alcohol-related fatal crashes – the highest percentage of any age group.
• A total of 256 people under age 25 were killed in alcohol-related crashes.

The problem in Texas is reflective of nationwide trends, according to the Texans Standing Tall 2011 Report Card on Higher Education. “The negative consequences of excessive and underage alcohol use affect students physically, socially, and academically,” according to the report. “Alcohol impaired judgment often results in underage students putting themselves in risky situations.”

• More than 1,800 students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including those resulting from car crashes, and another 600,000 students are injured.
• 35 percent of college and university students nationwide reported that they engaged in binge drinking.

“The STARS Peer Educators and other campus student leaders decided that U in the Driver Seat would become a key focus for our health education program at the University of the Incarnate Word,” says Samantha Buentello, one of the program leaders. “Our U in the Driver Seat team wants to share the message with our peers about the most common causes of driving accidents among the 18-24 age group. Drinking and driving is one of our major concerns.”

More than 8,000 Americans between the ages of five and 24 die every year in traffic crashes — the number-one cause of death, by far, for this age group.

Unlike other safety initiatives targeting young people behind the wheel, UDS involves college students directly to help develop and deliver the right safety messages. And the program enjoys support at the highest levels.

“We are proud to join with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and the University of the Incarnate Word on such an important program to raise awareness of safe driving for students of all ages,” said Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, president of Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

TTI developed UDS and provides the science, materials and support for the progra0m, while each student group determines how the program will work in its school. Funding is provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“Young people have a lot of influence on each other,” says Russell Henk, director of the TDS program. “The U in the Driver Seat program is designed to help ensure that the influence is positive.”

Learn more about the program at U-driver.com.

For more information:                   Bernie Fette, 979-845-2623 (office) or 979-777-7532 (cell)

Peer program & GDL law help Texas lead U.S. in reducing teen crashes

The rate of fatal teen crashes is declining faster and more steadily in Texas than in any other state, thanks in part to a growing program that uses peer communication to reduce the dangers for young drivers, according to a new study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

The study examines the trend in states with at least five years of crash records available after implementation of a graduated driver license (GDL) law, and also illustrates the growth of the Teens in the Driver Seat program which augments the state’s 2002 GDL law. In those years, Texas has outpaced the other 36 states on a number of levels.

• The number of fatal crashes per 10,000 teenage drivers fell by 32.5 percent, the most of any of the states measured. Texas was also the only state to record a steady drop in the teen fatal crash rate for five straight years.
• The actual number of teen drivers in fatal crashes also dropped nearly 33 percent in Texas, while the average number for the nation’s other large states increased slightly.
• The improvement in Texas is three times greater than what should be expected from GDL laws alone.
• Benefits from GDL laws are typically limited to 16-year-old drivers, but significant improvement in Texas was seen in older teen drivers, as well.
• The decline in the fatal crash rate for teen drivers was more than five times greater than for the balance of Texas drivers.

Researchers and teen leaders assign much of the credit for the unusual trend in Texas to the Teens in the Driver Seat Program.

“We believe Teens in the Driver Seat is making a real difference in Texas,” said Albert Torres, Jr. of Laredo, a member of the TDS Teen Advisory Board. “Laws are important, but they can’t do the job alone, so young people have to be part of the solution, too.”

Torres and other teen advisors were joined on Monday by State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, who chairs the House Committee on Public Health. “This is one of the biggest public health problems we have ever faced,” Kolkhorst said. “But in Texas, we are leading the way in fighting a nationwide killer. As a co-author of the original graduated driver license law, I’m proud to see that our state’s approach to teen driving is saving lives.”

The TTI study examined federal data in all states where GDL laws have been in place for at least five years. The record in Texas is better than what should have been expected, researchers say, given two noteworthy obstacles the state faces. First, Texas doesn’t require an on-road driving test for new drivers, meaning that many 16-year-olds begin to drive without demonstrating that they’re up to the task. Second, the state allows parent-taught driver education, which research has shown to be linked to a fatal crash rate nearly three times higher than other driver education methods. More than a third of young drivers secure their license through parent-taught driver ed.

Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has shown that states with “fair” GDL laws can expect a fatal crash reduction of 11 percent. TTI researchers say the balance of the 33 percent reduction in Texas is due largely to the TDS program, which has been introduced in nearly 300 schools and reached a quarter million teens statewide. Russell Henk, a TTI Senior Research Engineer, outlined a case study of the program showing that young drivers have reduced cell phone use by 30 percent and increased seat belt use by 10 percent. Assessments also show that program participants have boosted their knowledge of the most common driving dangers by up to 200 percent. Those improvements have helped to reduce fatal teen crashes, Henk said.

“Our analysis shows that we have saved more than 200 young lives and saved more than $2 billion in Texas since the TDS program began,” Henk said of the TTI study. “If other states take advantage of our experience, we believe they can do the same.”

TTI plans to continue expansion of the program within – and beyond – Texas. “TTI has worked for years to better understand this problem, and now we know more than we ever have about how to address it,” TTI Director Dennis Christiansen said. “We’re committed to continued research and innovations to help fight the number-one killer of teenagers in America.”

TDS is the nation’s first grassroots peer safety program for young drivers. Unlike previous programs, it relies on teens to design and deliver safety messages. And in contrast to other programs that focus on a single risk, such as alcohol or safety belt use, TDS also emphasizes the dangers that are actually more common to young drivers: driving at night, speeding, and distractions created by cell phones, texting and other young passengers. Researchers say the program is the ideal complement to teen driving laws. “The lesson here is that laws can be more effective when they are reinforced by peer programs like Teens in the Driver Seat,” Henk said. “In the fight to stop the number-one killer of teenagers in America, GDL and TDS give us the perfect one-two punch.”

The TDS program is available free of charge to schools in Texas through partial funding support from State Farm Insurance. More information is available at www.t-driver.com.

For more information: Bernie Fette     979-845-2623 (office) /           979-777-7532 (cell)

Full report and state-by-state illustrations are available at http://t-driver.com/nighttime-fatal-crash-trends/.

Analysis sheds light on growing nighttime driving danger

A new nationwide analysis suggests that distractions – not alcohol – are contributing to a steady increase in nighttime fatal crashes for teenage drivers.

The trends are illustrated in a report produced by the Teens in the Driver Seat Center of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which examined the effect of light conditions on crashes from 1999 to 2008 in all 50 U.S. states, along with the presence of alcohol as a factor in those crashes. The findings suggest something other than alcohol is pushing the nighttime fatal crash numbers up for teen drivers. The most likely reason, researchers say, is the presence of cell phones.

Among the findings:The proportion of nighttime fatal crashes increased for all drivers, but slightly more for teenage drivers than for drivers age 20 and older. Alcohol use as a contributing factor increased for older drivers, but decreased slightly for teen drivers.

• The increase in nighttime fatal crashes contrasts with a decrease in overall crash fatalities nationwide during the same period.

Russell Henk, a senior research engineer for TTI, noted that nighttime driving is the most common, documented factor associated with crashes involving young drivers, primarily because of a combination of the visibility challenges caused by dark conditions, slower response time brought about by fatigue, and a lack of experience driving under such conditions.

In addition, young drivers use their cell phones behind the wheel (primarily for texting) at a rate much greater than non-teenage drivers.

“Being on a cell phone behind the wheel impairs our driving ability,” Henk said. “When you add the nighttime danger, you create the perfect storm, and that storm is much more severe for young drivers, largely because of their lack of driving experience.”

Despite its place at the top of the list for young drivers, the danger of nighttime driving is not well recognized. In surveys of nearly 20,000 Texas teenagers conducted by TTI, only 3 percent cited the nighttime risk. Similar results have been noted in more limited survey samples in Georgia, California and Connecticut.

“Other dominant risk factors for teenage drivers  (lack of experience, additional teenage passengers, speeding, not wearing seat belts, and alcohol) have been present and well recognized for many years, long before cellular communication became prevalent,” the report notes. “However, it is cell phone use – propelled by rapid technological advancement and increased affordability – that is likely the most notable new driving risk factor for contemporary teens.”