Most teen drivers admit to narrowly avoiding an accident - USA Today

Even if teen drivers haven't been involved in an accident, they probably almost have.

In a new study, 68% of teens said they had narrowly avoided a crash, and more than half had experienced more than one close call in the past year.

More than 2,000 students in 28 high schools were surveyed by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) for the study, released June 13.

Of those who have had a close call, 55% blamed other drivers or the weather, yet when asked what was happening at the time of the close call, 30% said they were speeding, 21% said they were texting and 20% said they were talking to passengers in the car.

In April, a study by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance found that when crashes occurred because of an error made by a teen, 20% of the time distracted driving was to blame. Speeding was responsible for 21% of crashes in which teens were at fault.

Teens are four times more likely to get into accidents than older drivers, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 3,000 teens died in auto accidents in 2009 and 350,000 were treated for injuries, the CDC estimates.

Stephen Wallace, chairman of SADD, says the idea to research close calls by teen drivers came out of focus groups. "We were hearing a lot of kids saying 'I almost did this, I almost did that,'" Wallace says.

Parents may not be able to control what their teens do once they get behind the wheel, but tools exist that could help keep an eye on their driving behavior.

Several smartphone apps for teens and their parents are available:

iGuardianTeen monitors for excessive G-forces during driving that may occur because of sudden braking, swerving or an accident. The app also records video continuously from the phone, which is mounted on the dashboard during driving, and uploads the video for parents to view whenever excessive G-forces are detected. The app also e-mails a driving after each drive.

Parents are notified if the app is terminated or the driver uses the phone to text or make calls. According to the app website, an iPhone version is planned but not currently available. The app costs $4.99 at the Android App Store.

Speedbump allows parents to set speed limits for different driving conditions, such as divided highways, secondary highways such as state routes, and residential roads. The app alerts parents if the set limits are exceeded.

Like iGuardianTeen, Speedbump also notifies parents if the app is shut down. Unlike iGuardianTeen, information is only reported to parents if limits are exceeded. If the driver stays within set parameters, no report is sent. The app is available on Android phones for $9.99 a month.

Devices that are designed to track the actions of teen drivers are also available. MobileTeen GPS can send speed and location information to parents every five minutes. The device also can be programmed with unacceptable driving areas and will alert parents whenever a vehicle enters an unacceptable area.

The tracker can be purchased starting at $249.

The Liberty Mutual/SADD study shows that although more than half of teens who had close calls changed their driving behavior after the incident, usually by paying more attention to other drivers, the lesson doesn't seem to stick. A little over half said their new habits lasted only a few months or less.

According to the study, teenagers are most likely to change their driving habits after being involved in an accident. Only 36% of those who had been in a crash said their new habits lasted just a few months or less. Most said the change in their habits was "forever."

"The better way is the collaboration between parents and drivers," Wallace says. But that effort can be undercut, when parents engage in the same kind of risky driving behavior as teens. Wallace says teens reported that their parents do "crazy" things behind the wheel.

"We all take risks because we think the convenience outweighs the risk," Wallace says. He compares an adult checking e-mail on a smartphone in traffic to a teen texting friends.

Justin McNaull, director of state relations for AAA, says a substantial amount of diverse driving practice with parents is key to establishing good driving patterns in teens. Too often, teens simply act as substitute drivers on routine trips. Practice should give new drivers experience in a variety of situations, McNaull says.

Parent-teen driving contracts also can play a role in establishing acceptable driving practices for teens.

"If you're not comfortable letting your teen drive in a certain situation, then don't," McNaull says.

Over time, progress has been made with teens and driving. An October study by the CDC found that teen driving fatalities dropped by more than a third between 2004 and 2008. The CDC gave partial credit to graduated licensing programs that are used in some states, which award licenses to teens in stages.

In graduated licensing, there is a learner's stage during which teens can drive only while accompanied by an adult. This is followed by restricted driving, where unsupervised driving is allowed under certain conditions or hours. Finally, teens are granted a full license.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Source : Click Here