16-24 year olds more likely to be involved in drowsy driving crashes finds AAA Foundation study

Washington, D.C., (November 8, 2012) Younger drivers are more likely to drive while drowsy according to new data presented by AAA. Based on a recent survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, one in seven licensed drivers ages 16-24 admitted to having nodded off at least once while driving in the past year as compared to one in ten of all licensed drivers who confessed to falling asleep during the same period.

Additional Resources

• NEW: Drowsy Driving Footage (dashboard cam)
• Existing Videos: Teens driving while drowsy
• AAA Foundation’s Drowsy Driving Brochure
• AAA Foundation’s Drowsy Driving Fact Sheet

These new findings echo data from a 2010 AAA Foundation study of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash data that estimates that young drivers age 16-24 were more likely, by some 78 percent, to be drowsy at the time of the crash as drivers age 40-59. This earlier analysis also revealed that one in six deadly crashes involve a drowsy driver, making it one of the leading contributors to traffic crashes.

“Research shows that fatigue impairs safe driving, with many symptoms causing drivers to behave in ways similar to those who are intoxicated,” said AAA President & CEO Robert Darbelnet. “In preparation for the holiday driving season and with many young drivers heading home for Thanksgiving break, AAA is drawing attention to this often overlooked crash risk that is a serious threat to everyone’s safety on the road.”

The recent analysis also found that while eight out of ten people view drowsy drivers as a serious threat to their own personal safety, many admit to driving while extremely drowsy themselves. In fact, 30 percent of licensed drivers reported having driven in the past 30 days when they were so tired that they struggled to keep their eyes open.

“Unfortunately, most drivers underestimate the risks associated with drowsy driving and overestimate their ability to deal with it—that’s a dangerous combination,” said AAA Foundation President & CEO Peter Kissinger.

Driving while sleepy or fatigued can significantly impact driving ability, causing slower reaction time, vision impairment and lapses in judgment. While there is no guarantee that drivers will recognize when they are becoming tired behind the wheel, signs of drowsy driving can include:

• Trouble remembering the last miles driven or missing exits and traffic signs
• Difficulty keeping your eyes open and focused
• Yawning frequently or rubbing your eyes repeatedly
• Drifting from your lane or off the road
• Daydreaming or having wandering, disconnected thoughts

AAA urges all motorists to stop driving and find a safe place to pull over if experiencing any of the drowsy driving symptoms. To remain alert and be safer behind the wheel, AAA suggests:

• Get plenty of sleep (at least seven hours) the night before a long trip
• Avoid travelling at times you would normally be sleeping
• Schedule a break every two hours or every 100 miles
• Avoid heavy foods
• Travel with a companion and take turns driving
• Avoid medications that cause drowsiness or other impairment

AAA is also highlighting the risks of drowsy driving in support of the National Sleep Foundation’s Drowsy Driving Prevention Week® which runs November 12-18.  This annual campaign provides public education about the under-reported risks of driving while drowsy and countermeasures to improve safety on the road. For more information about drowsy driving, visit the National Sleep Foundation’s drowsy driving website at www.DrowsyDriving.org.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 53 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

Established in 1947 by AAA, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is an independent, publicly funded, 501(c)(3) charitable research and educational organization. The AAA Foundation’s mission is to prevent traffic deaths and injuries by conducting research into their causes and by educating the public about strategies to prevent crashes and reduce injuries when they do occur. Visit www.aaafoundation.org or www.facebook.com/AAAFTS for more information on how you can join our cause.

New Research Shows that Risky Behaviors Climb when Peer Passengers Onboard

WASHINGTON (October 11, 2012) – Risky behaviors among 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes increased when teen passengers were present according to a study presented today by AAA and conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. With motor vehicle crashes ranking as the leading cause of death for teens, AAA is calling for greater parental involvement and stronger graduated driver’s licensing programs to promote road safety.
The new research, released as part of Teen Driver Safety Week (Oct. 14-20), shows that the prevalence of risky behaviors generally grew for 16- and 17-year-old drivers as the number of teen passengers increased.  Among 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes:

• The prevalence of speeding increased from 30 percent to 44 percent and 48 percent with zero, two and three or more teen passengers, respectively.
• The prevalence of late-night driving (11 p.m. to 5 a.m.) increased from 17 percent to 22 percent and 28 percent with zero, two and three or more teen passengers, respectively.
• The prevalence of alcohol use increased from 13 percent to 17 percent and 18 percent with zero, two and three or more teen passengers, respectively.

Additional Resources

• Research Results: Characteristics of Fatal Crashes Involving 16- and 17-Year-Old Drivers with Teenage Passengers
• VIDEO: New Research from AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
• VIDEO: Steps to Take to Reduce Teen Passenger Fatalities
• VIDEO: What Parents Can Do to Keep Their Teen Driver Safe

“Mixing young drivers with teen passengers can have dangerous consequences,” said AAA President & CEO Robert Darbelnet. “AAA urges parents to set and consistently enforce family rules that limit newly licensed teens from driving with young passengers.”

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety analyzed data on fatal crashes that occurred in the United States from 2005 through 2010. The report documents the prevalence of passengers ages 13-19 in fatal crashes involving drivers age 16 and 17, and examines the characteristics of those crashes according to age, sex and number of teen passengers present.  Researchers found that 9,578 drivers age 16 and 17 were involved in fatal crashes, and that 3,994 of these included at least one teen passenger.

“Teen crashes remain a huge problem nationwide,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. “Our past research clearly shows how young passengers substantially increase a novice driver’s risk of being in a fatal crash, and these new findings underscore the need to refocus our efforts, to address the problem, from state legislatures to parents.”

AAA recommends that all states adopt and enforce a comprehensive three-stage (learner’s permit, intermediate/probationary license, full/unrestricted license) graduated license system for novice drivers. These programs should limit driving at night and driving with young passengers, among other provisions designed to help novice drivers gain the skills and experience associated with responsible driving behavior.

“Graduated driver licensing programs have been shown to greatly reduce crashes, injuries and deaths for everyone on the road when they limit new teen drivers to no more than one passenger,” continued Darbelnet. “Steps parents can take, such as setting and enforcing a parent-teen driving agreement, can build on state laws to improve safety by gradually easing teens into driving.”

This study builds on a AAA Foundation report released in May that shows how risk of death in a traffic crash for 16- and 17-year-old drivers increases by 44 percent when carrying one passenger younger than 21, doubles with two and quadruples with three or more younger passengers, compared with driving alone. A previous study by the AAA Foundation found that potentially distracting loud conversation and horseplay were substantially more common with multiple teenage passengers in the vehicle than with siblings or adult passengers.

Teen drivers face a number of safety challenges including:

• Teenage drivers are involved in more crashes per mile than drivers of any other age group.
• Drivers aged 16 to 17 are involved in about seven times as many crashes per mile driven compared to drivers in their forties, fifties or sixties.
• Teenage drivers are overrepresented in crashes that result in the death of other people, such as their passengers, pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles.

AAA has a wide range of tools available at TeenDriving.AAA.com to help parents simplify the learning-to-drive process including parent-teen driving agreements, online webinars, licensing information and free online information developed from a National Institutes of Health program.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 53 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

Established in 1947 by AAA, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is an independent, publicly funded, 501(c)(3) charitable research and educational organization. The AAA Foundation’s mission is to prevent traffic deaths and injuries by conducting research into their causes and by educating the public about strategies to prevent crashes and reduce injuries when they do occur. Visit www.aaafoundation.org or www.facebook.com/AAAFTS for more information on how you can join our cause.

With traffic crashes the leading cause of death for teens, making sure new drivers have a foundation in basic driving skills is critical to success behind the wheel

ORLANDO, Fla., (May 17, 2012) – With the summer months ahead and many teens looking to complete their driver’s education courses, AAA offers advice, resources and tips on selecting a quality driving school to help provide a solid foundation of driving skills for your teen.

With new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety highlighting the steep fatality risks teen drivers face when they transport young passengers, it’s critical that parents be fully engaged in their teen’s process of learning to drive. AAA recommends the use of a qualified, professional driving instructor, which is a requirement to receive a license in some states.

“Quality driving instruction provides the foundation needed for safe driving practices. Instructors ensure their students have the basic skills, knowledge and habits needed for safety on the road,” said Dr. Bill Van Tassel, manager, AAA Driver Training Programs. “Using a third-party instructor also can eliminate some of the added stress and emotion that can occur between parents and teens and allow a calmer focus on learning to drive safely.”

However, not all driving schools are the same. To help parents identify the best driving school for their teen, AAA offers the following checklist:

Ask Friends and Neighbors. Seek recommendations and ask why they selected a particular driving school.

Call and Visit Several Schools. Ask to see classrooms and to observe part of a course. Classrooms should be clean, orderly and set up to conduct classroom sessions. Check that there is a desk for each student in the class with a clear view of any visual displays.

Ensure Classroom and Behind-the-Wheel Sessions are Integrated. An ideal course integrates classroom and behind-the-wheel training. Classroom time should consist of a structured lesson plan that includes coverage of risk prevention and the fundamentals of defensive driving practices. Behind-the-wheel sessions should correspond with the classroom lesson plan to reinforce and demonstrate the practical usage of the concepts. Beginners learn best with two in-car lessons each week. Driving environments should include residential streets, city traffic, rural roads, highways and limited-access freeways.

Check References and Complaints. Check with the Better Business Bureau for any complaints against the school. Ask for references of previous students and parents that can be called about their experiences with the school.

When searching for a driving school, parents can also consider AAA-affiliated schools. Any school that displays the AAA logo has been thoroughly reviewed and maintains a high level of standards.

Detailed tips about driving schools, as well as a driving school evaluation checklist, are available for free in AAA’s Choosing a Driving School brochure, which is available to download online from AAA’s Keys2Drive website.

Even with the use of a quality driving school, parental involvement is essential for teens to learn safe driving habits. AAA offers a wide variety of resources to guide parents through the process of their teens learning how to drive through its teen driver safety website—TeenDriving.AAA.com. The interactive site provides parents and teens with specific information based on where they live and where they are in the learning process—from preparing to drive (pre-permit) through the learner’s permit and solo driving.  Some highlighted features of the website include:

The StartSmart Newsletter helps families get through the crucial period when teens are learning to drive. A series of electronic newsletters and webisodes helps you identify the challenges you and your teen will face and how to work as a team to reduce risk.

Parent-Teen Driving Agreement - AAA suggests signing an agreement to help set realistic expectations and establish boundaries for teen drivers.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 53 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

 Teen driver safety advocates comment on recent fatality data.

(WASHINGTON, Feb.17, 2012) Although the report from the Governors Highway Safety Administration shows a disappointing increase in deaths among 16- and 17-year-old drivers in the first half of 2011, the longer-term data in the report highlight the success of graduated driver licensing (GDL).  A decade of legislative victories improved teen driver licensing systems and led to eight consecutive years of falling fatality levels from 2003 to 2010. Teen driver deaths have fallen more than 50 percent during the 15 years since passage of the nation’s first three-stage GDL system in 1996. The pace of new GDL enactments has slowed considerably during the last couple years, however.  If state legislatures continue to improve licensing processes for teens, we can resume our progress in keeping teens safe on the road.

As an advocate on teen driver safety for more than 75 years and a leader in advocacy and research into better teen licensing, AAA concurs with report recommendations that improving laws and increasing compliance with state GDL systems are two key opportunities to resume the downward trend in teen driver deaths.

Graduated driver licensing has been shown to be highly effective at reducing teen crashes, deaths, and injuries, but it is not our only path to improving teen driver safety.  Parents play a key role in setting rules and working with their teens to become safe teen drivers.  AAA has a range of programs that can help parents keep their teens safe on the road, from driver education classes and parent-teen driving agreements to our award-winning teen driver safety website for families, www.teendriving.aaa.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. , February 27, 2009

Analysis shows large reduction in deaths for all road users as deadly teen driver crashes dropped during last decade, says AAA

The majority of people killed in teen driver crashes continue to be people other than teen drivers themselves, according to an updated analysis of 10 years of crash data by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The analysis shows that about one-third of people killed in crashes involving drivers ages 15 to 17 are teen drivers themselves. Nearly two-thirds are passengers, occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users.

“For every teen driver killed in a crash, almost twice as many other people die, which underscores the link between teen driver safety and the safety of everyone on the road,” said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet.

Nationally, between 1998 and 2007, crashes involving 15-, 16- and 17-year-old drivers killed 28,138 people, of whom 10,388 (36.9%) were teen drivers themselves. The remaining 17,750 (63.1%) deaths included 8,829 passengers of the teen drivers, 6,858 occupants of other vehicles operated by adult drivers, and 2,063 non-motorists and others. A previous analysis in 2006 found that between 1995 and 2004, crashes involving 15-, 16- and 17-year-old drivers claimed the lives of 30,917 people, of whom 36.2 percent were teen drivers themselves and 63.6 percent were others.

“Young drivers face an array of potentially deadly challenges at the wheel,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. “Parents and teens need to understand the serious responsibility of driving and the risks and consequences involved.”

AAA points to the drop in both teen driver deaths and the larger drop in deaths of others during the last decade as evidence that improving teen driver safety benefits all road users.

“During the last decade, as states improved their teen licensing systems and AAA has helped parents get more involved, we have seen reductions in teen driver deaths and even larger reductions in the number of other people killed,” said Darbelnet. “Clearly, measures put into place to save teen drivers help us all.”

AAA continues to call for comprehensive graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems that let new teen drivers gain experience under less-risky conditions. States with comprehensive GDL systems have been shown to reduce deaths among 16-year-old drivers by 38 percent. Forty-nine state GDL systems fall short of AAA guidelines.

AAA also encourages parents to play the leading role in developing their teen driver through regular dialogue, selecting a quality driving school, using a parent-teen driving agreement, extensive practice driving, and choosing a safe vehicle for their teen.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 51 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at www.AAA.com.

Washington, D.C. – 6/11/2008

Parents need to consider a vehicle’s safety features, affordability and reliability

Summer is the prime time for parents to purchase vehicles for their teens with graduation, summer jobs and college looming. AAA encourages parents to factor safety, affordability and reliability into picking the best vehicle for their teen.

“Helping their teenager make a smart vehicle choice is an important way that parents need to be involved in their young driver’s development,” said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. “Making a wise choice can more than just save the teen some money and repair headaches – it can save lives.”

Selecting the right vehicle can prove challenging for parents as they balance safety concerns, financial constraints, the teen’s preferences and their own emotions. Prior to choosing a vehicle, parents must determine if their teen needs a vehicle of their own.

“Parents should assess the maturity level and actual driving needs of their teen before beginning the search for a vehicle,” Darbelnet added. “Once a teen is ready for and needs a vehicle, buying that car presents a golden opportunity for parents to actively engage the teen in making a smart, safe vehicle decision.”

AAA’s So Your Teen Wants a Car? A Parent’s Guide to Choosing a Vehicle brochure provides parents and teens with important details to consider when in the market for a vehicle. This car buying brochure will be distributed by AAA clubs across the country. AAA emphasizes three categories for parents to consider during the vehicle selection process: safety, affordability and reliability.

Safety – Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and teens are more than twice as likely to be involved in a crash as adult licensed drivers. Parents should consider vehicles with the latest safety features that can reduce the risk of a crash and the likelihood of injury should a crash occur. Such features include antilock braking systems (ABS), daytime running lights, electronic stability control (ESC), airbags and adjustable/lockable head restraints.

Affordability – Parents are encouraged to work with their teen to determine the best investment. A new vehicle may exceed the family budget, so a previously-owned model with good safety features might be the best option. Insurance, fuel and maintenance costs should all factor into the decision making process as well.

Reliability – Selecting a vehicle with a warranty, purchasing an extended warranty, checking the vehicle’s maintenance and crash histories, conducting a pre-purchase inspection and avoiding vehicles with excessive mileage are steps parents can take to ensure the purchase of a roadworthy and mechanically sound vehicle for their teen.

For more information on AAA’s So Your Teen Wants a Car? A Parent’s Guide to Choosing a Vehicle brochure and other AAA teen driver safety resources, please contact your local AAA club or visit www.AAA.com/publicaffairs.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 51 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at www.AAA.com