By Russell Henk What we’re learning about the battle against the coronavirus could go a long way in helping us thwart vehicle crashes. It’s a simple lesson: Prevention – in the form of personal responsibility – can help us contain the public health crisis of COVID-19, and it can do the same with the epidemic […]
Teens in the Driver Seat
TTI’s Teens in the Driver Seat® Launches New App to Encourage Safety in Young Drivers
Car crashes account for nearly one-third of all teen deaths in America each year. As a part of National Teen Driver Safety Week Oct. 18–24, teen advocates of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) program launched its You in the Driver Seat (YDS) smartphone app, aimed at encouraging safer […]
College Students, Traffic Safety Professionals Attend Virtual 2020 U in the Driver Seat Symposium
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) U in the Driver Seat (UDS) education and outreach program held its virtual 2020 UDS Symposium Oct. 7–9. Now in its eighth year, the symposium raises awareness about the leading cause of death for young adults ages 18–25 — traffic crashes. This year’s theme was “recharge to save lives […]
Now’s the Time to Teach Your Teen to Drive
The Silver Lining in the COVID-19 Cloud The entire world is practicing social distancing, and some of us are under shelter-in-place orders. You might find you have some extra time on your hands. If you’re a parent with a teen at home, you might find yourself even growing a bit antsy for something to do […]
General Motors Funds Expansion of Landmark Teen Driving Safety Program to America’s Heartland
General Motors (GM) has awarded a generous grant to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) Program. These funds will support ongoing outreach efforts in Texas, where TDS was born, as well as Georgia, reaching some 230 high schools and 200,000 students. TDS will also be able to expand its […]
General Motors Funds Expansion of Landmark Teen Driving Safety Program to America’s Heartland
As part of National Teen Driving Safety Week, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) Program is announcing that a generous grant from General Motors (GM) will help TDS reach even more teen drivers with its safety messaging next year. These funds will support ongoing outreach efforts in Texas, where TDS […]
What We’re Thinking: As Cars Get Better, Driving Gets Worse
By Russell Henk This article was originally published in Dallas News, April 11, 2019. 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. […]
As Cars Get Better, Driving Gets Worse
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 […]
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 […]
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