Residents in Virginia share the road with plenty of other drivers every day. Unfortunately, not all of those drivers are going to be engaging in safe driving practices. Today, we will take a look at distracted driving and its impact on teens in specific, along with campaigns that have been launched to help tamp down on these issues.
Teen Driver Source discusses many dangers unique to teenage drivers, especially when it comes to distracted driving behaviors. One of the biggest potential problems is that among teenagers, distracted driving isn’t particularly discouraged. Teens often see that many of their peers drive while checking their phones, changing music, or talking to other passengers and they do not get into crashes. This encourages them to emulate the behavior, viewing it as “safe”.
When combined with the fact that teens have the least amount of driving experience of those on the road, it can lead to many types of crash risks. The rate of fatal crashes due to distracted driving is skewed in the direction of teens. For this reason, distracted driving campaigns often target this age bracket, along with young adults. According to certain studies, these are the groups most likely to make decisions that involve distracted driving.
It’s important to note that distracted driving doesn’t just cover the use of phones or other handheld mobile devices, though. They are frequently the focus, but anything from changing the temperature or radio station to talking to a passenger can result in a driver becoming distracted. This is especially dangerous when a younger, less experienced driver is behind the wheel.
