Researcher: Russell Henk, P.E.
Texas
Sponsors: Texas Department of Transportation and Houston-Galveston Area Council
Partner: State Farm Insurance
The Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) initiative steadily continued its growth across Texas in 2011. TDS is the nation’s first peer-to-peer program focused solely on teen driver safety. The program is different from other teen driver safety initiatives in several ways. It focuses on the most common dangers for young drivers: driving at night; distractions such as cell phones, texting and too many teen passengers; speeding; lack of seat belt use; and driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs. The program relies on the teen audience to both develop and deliver safety messages to their peers. The program also encourages ongoing, year-round distribution of safety messages among young people and creation of a safety culture. The program is fundamentally designed to augment and reinforce a state’s graduated driver license law. During 2011, the TDS program grew to be active in nearly 550 schools in Texas. The program has been designated as a national best practice for teen driving safety for the past three years in a row.
Other States
Sponsors: California Office of Traffic Safety, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Georgia Department of Transportation, and Montana Department of Transportation
The success and expansion of TDS in Texas has led to the program being spread to other parts of the United States. The program is in nearly 100 schools in other states, including California, Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina and Montana. This year, TDS-Georgia had its first TDS Teen of the Month, the first Georgia teen was elected to the TDS Teen Advisory Board, and two Georgia schools were named TDS Outstanding Schools.
TDS—Jr. High
Sponsor: Texas Department of Transportation
Teens in the Driver Seat® — Jr. High is a peer-to-peer Texas program designed to help junior-high-aged students be safer car passengers and teach them how to be safer drivers, even before they start to drive. The more this age group knows about the dangers that cause teenage drivers to crash, the more they can help prevent those crashes just by doing what is safe and smart. By learning the risk factors for teen drivers now, good habits will already be established before they start to drive. The program also focuses on how the top five risk factors (driving at night; dis¬tractions such as cell phones, texting and too many teen passengers; speeding; lack of seat-belt use; and driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs) apply.
U in the Driver Seat
Sponsors: Texas Department of Transportation and Southwest Region University Transportation Center
U in the Driver Seat is a peer-to-peer safety program for college students and addresses the persistent problem of alcohol-impaired driving. Car crashes are the number-one killer of young people in America, and for the college-age population, alcohol use stands out as one of the most common contributors to these crashes. The scope of the problem is especially severe in Texas. According to NHTSA, nearly 12,000 people nationwide were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2008, and 1,463 of them died in Texas — the highest total of any state. In an effort to reverse this alarming trend, TTI has developed a peer-driven outreach program focused on this increasingly high-risk group. The program is modeled after TTI’s successful TDS program. CTS was also the recipient of a second grant for the U in the Driver Seat program that focuses on all five of the top risks, including alcohol, identified for college drivers. While the highest driving risks are the same for all drivers under age 25, the percentages vary with life stage, and it is important to educate college students on all of the common dangers.
For more information contact Russell Henk.
