By Russell Henk Our cars keep getting better, but our driving seems to be getting worse. Auto design has evolved from safety belts and airbags that help us survive crashes to features like lane-departure warnings and automatic emergency braking that help us avoid them. Still, the rate of distracted driving deaths rose twice as fast […]
Teens in the Driver Seat
Changing Our Mindset — TTI Research Reveals a Disconnect Between Belief and Behavior in Teen Drivers
Car crashes remain the No. 1 cause of death and injury for young people. For most of the past decade, teen crash deaths in the United States were on the decline before the trend reversed in 2013. Over those 10 years, researchers in the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) […]
As New School Year Begins, TTI Study Shows Risky Behaviors Continue by Teen Drivers, Despite Knowing the Dangers
Teen drivers understand that texting and talking on their cell phones are among their most dangerous behaviors behind the wheel, but they admit to doing them anyway. That’s one of the findings from the Teen Driver Risk Awareness Survey conducted by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). The survey — one of the largest of […]
TTI’s Henk Appointed Chair of the Texas Teen Safe Driving Coalition
With the last 15 years of his professional career dedicated to the safety of teen drivers and their passengers, Russell Henk, senior research engineer with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), has been named chairperson of Texas’ Teen Safe Driving Coalition — a partnership led by the National Safety Council. Henk is the program manager […]
Teens in the Driver Seat® Celebrates 15 Years of Success
Teens in the Driver Seat®(TDS), the first peer-to-peer program for teens that focuses solely on traffic safety and addresses all major risks for this age group, recently reached a milestone anniversary of 15 years. View TDS 15 Year Report Card According to TDS Founder and Director Russell Henk, this year the program will provide more […]
Texas House of Representatives Recognizes TTI’s Teens in the Driver Seat Program
On May 12, the Texas House of Representatives adopted H.R. 1949, a resolution recognizing the contributions made to teen driving safety by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and its Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) program. Launched in 2002 by TTI and sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation, State Farm Insurance and others, […]
Teens in the Driver Seat® Launches Teen Driver App to Curb Distracted Driving Among Teen Drivers
On October 18, 2016, as part of National Teen Driver Safety Week (October 16-22), teen advocates of Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) and program staff launched Teen Driver, a new smartphone app created by MobiSoft Infotech, LLC. The launch was held at Creekview High School and highlighted the app’s functionality, as well as TDS’s […]
Tales Out of School
75 Percent of Teens Say Their Parents Drive Distracted If you’re a parent, you want to teach your kids to be smart and safe behind the wheel. It’s right there in the job description. But recent data gathered by Aceable—a mobile-first provider of online drivers-education and defensive-driving courses—suggests parents might be telling more than showing. […]
Teens in the Driver Seat® Hosts Annual Summit to Celebrate, Educate Student Advocates of Teen Driving Safety
Nearly 200 student leaders from Texas and around the nation attended the annual Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) Summit held May 15-17, 2016, at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas. TDS, a peer-to-peer teen driver safety program, brought together a variety of teen traffic safety experts and interactive safety exhibits, as well as […]
Teens in the Driver Seat® to Encourage Safe Interactions for Texas Teens and Large Trucks
In the past three years, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes have increased in Texas by 29 percent in the Permian Basin and 55 percent in the Eagle Ford Shale regions. Between 2011 and 2012, such crashes involved an estimated 2,006 drivers under the age of 26. In response to the increase in crashes concurrent with […]
Encouraging Safe Interactions Between Teens and Large Trucks
In the past three years, commercial motor vehicle crashes have increased 29 percent in the Permian Basin and 55 percent in the Eagle Ford Shale regions of Texas. Between 2011 and 2012, such crashes involved an estimated 2,006 drivers under the age of 26. In response to the increase in crashes concurrent with the oil […]
Teens in the Driver Seat® “Zero Crazy!” Activity Seeks to Reduce Distracted Driving Among Teens
Every day teens take their eyes off the road to tweet, text, snapchat, or post to the Internet. In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. According to NHTSA and the US Department of Transportation, drivers under the age of 20 made up 27 percent (about 850) of the distracted […]
Henk Receives NSC’s 2015 Teen Driving Safety Leadership Award
The National Safety Council (NSC) recently awarded Russell Henk, program manager for TTI’s Youth Transportation Safety Program, the organization’s 2015 Teen Driving Safety Leadership Award. Henk won the award for his “long-term commitment to reducing teen crashes through developing, nurturing and growing” Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS), the program Henk founded more than a […]
Teens in the Driver Seat® Expands to 35 States Thanks to State Farm® Grants
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) and State Farm today announced that expanded funding from the nation’s largest insurance company has helped to introduce the successful Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) program in more than 100 new schools, resulting in the program now being active in 35 states. Officials say that the $470,000 in […]
U in the Driver Seat Holds Symposium at UT-Arlington
The U in the Driver Seat® (UDS) program is holding its Peer-to-Peer Impaired Driving Prevention Symposium at The University of Texas at Arlington April 24-25, and it couldn’t be better timed. Statewide statistics from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) indicate that crash-related deaths involving drivers 18-24 years old driving under the influence of drugs […]
Teens in the Driver Seat Featured on KBTX News
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Senior Research Engineer and Program Manager of Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) Russell Henk was recently featured on KBTX news explaining the mission of the program. TDS launched to try to bring down the top cause of death for young people in the country. In fact, teens are eight times […]
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month – allowing traffic safety advocates the opportunity to shine a light on the issue. Distracted driving has become a hot topic of conversation, debate and policy making these days. Cell phones are a major target, but distractions are anything that takes your mind and attention away from your […]
Register Now For the 2015 TDS Summit
Planning is underway for the 2015 Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) Summit on May 17-19 in San Antonio, Texas. Car crashes are the number one killer of youth in America. The TDS Summit will showcase student leaders in bringing awareness about this problem to their peers, families and communities. This year’s Summit will kick […]
Teens in the Driver Seat Aims at Promoting Safer Driving in 100 New High Schools Nationwide in 2015
The No. 1 killer of U.S. teenagers is automobile crashes, especially during their first — and most inexperienced — year of driving. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) program and State Farm® are enhancing their longstanding and successful relationship to prevent these tragedies. State Farm recently provided $350,000 in grant […]
Good Driving Habits Begin Early
Teens in the Driver Seat Jr. High Program Targets Pre-Driving Teens Before they can drive a car themselves, younger teens can play a significant role in promoting safe driving by their older peers. They can even remind their parents what it means to be a model driver for their children by promoting safe driving as […]