Transcription
NOVICE TEEN DRIVERS
What is the most dangerous thing your teenwill ever have to face?As an insurance company, GEICO would like everyone to drivesafely. That’s a very broad message and a very big wish. And interms of safety we think one audience in particular needsspecial attention novice drivers those drivers that just gottheir license and are out on the road all alone for the first time.We rely on scientific data when it comes to traffic and highwaysafety information and we work with the Insurance Institute ofHighway Safety (IIHS), the National Safety Council (NSC), andthe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) to get that important data to you.This presentation describes what we’ve learned about ournewest and youngest drivers and how to help protect them.Let’s begin by asking: What is the most dangerous thing yourteen will ever have to face?Is it Drugs? Violence? Gangs?The answer is: DrivingDriving is the most dangerous thing your teen will ever face.GEICO is focused on teen safe driving. We realize that teensface many problems; drugs gangs violence. While they areall huge worries for parents, automobile crashes are proventhe highest risk to teens today. Safety experts, including thoseat GEICO, recognize that years of scientific research areindisputable. Car crashes take more young lives than all othercauses, and teens die in car crashes in larger proportion thanany other driving group.2
Car crashes are the leading cause of deathfor teenagersStatistics from IIHS tell us that car crashes are the leadingcause of death for teens.In 2005, nearly 5,300 teens ages 13-19 died in motor vehiclecrashes.According to a study by IIHS, during the first six months of solodriving, novice drivers are at the highest risk for car crashes.In fact crash rates are four times higher for 16-19year old drivers than for older drivers.Why is this? It’s due to lack of experience.Even though crash rates dramatically decline during the firstsix months of solo driving, they still remain significantly higherthrough the teen years relative to adults.The first six months of driving are the riskiest for teens.They show the highest incidents of auto-related crashesand injuries.That is why it’s important for parents to be especiallycautious during this period of the learning-to-drive process.Teens are at the highest risk of getting into an auto accidentdue to many reasons, including:3
Skills Knowledge Experience Maturity Driving environmentWhat factors cause the most teen crashesand injuries?1. Not wearing safety belts2. Too many passengers (1 is too many when it comes to teendrivers)3. Night driving4. Drowsy driving5. Distractions such as text messaging6. Speeding7. Driving errors from inexperience8. AlcoholAs parents, what can you do to help?Your job begins when your teen gets a license. To help ease yourteen into the driving process, parents should be aware and takeextra precautionsSet a good example for your teen while driving: Wear your safety belt Don’t speed Practice defensive driving techniques Do not use a cell phone while driving Don’t run red lights4
Emphasize to your teens that when they are behind thewheel, they must have their passengers wear safety belts.Limit the number of passengers, especially fellow teenagepassengers.Limit your teen’s driving time, especially at night. It is importantfor them to practice night driving but during the novice drivingperiod there should be restrictions.Do not allow your teen to use their cell phone in the car.If it is an emergency, teach them to pull safely off to the sideof the road to make or receive a call. And, absolutely no textmessaging.Teens need rest. Encourage them not to drive when they aredrowsy or allow friends to drive when they are tired.Practice driving with your teen in bad weather conditions.While it is important for them to learn the basics, they haveto learn how to drive in all conditions.And of course, no drinking or drugs.Develop a parent-teen driving contract withyour teen.Their new freedom shouldn’t be abused and you have theauthority to require more practice driving hours, more driving in bad weather, to limit passengers or to enforce a no cellphone rule. By insisting on a driving contract you as the parenthave the ability to control the learning process for your teenand ease them into driving.5
Graduated Driver LicensingWe’d like parents to reinforce graduated state driver licensing programs so teens must have a longer period of superviseddriving and more restrictions in the early months. GDL hassaved lives and reduced crashes among young drivers.To learn more about your state’s graduated driver licensing laws,please visit the Information Institute for Highway Safety’s pageon state driving laws for teens:http://www.iihs.org/laws/state laws/grad license.htmlWe also encourage you to visit GEICO’s online Auto Safetylibrary. This library is full of information for teens and parentsto help stay safe on the road. We have various brochures andDVDs that appeal to both teens and parents available to download, watch online, or order free copies.Our Real Teen Driving DVD showcases real teen drivers,making real mistakes and discussing their opinions on howthey and their friends drive. It’s all very real.We hope this information will help you help your teens todrive smart and drive safe.6
As an insurance company, GEICO would like everyoneto drive safely. That’s a very broad message and a verybig wish. And in terms of safety we think one audiencein particular needs special attention novice drivers those drivers that just got their license and are out onthe road all alone for the first time.We rely on scientific data when it comes to trafficand highway safety information and we work withthe Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), theNational Safety Council (NSC), and the NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) toget that important data to you.This presentation describes what we’ve learned aboutour newest and youngest drivers and how to helpprotect them.Let’s begin by asking: What is the most dangerous thingyour teen will ever have to face?Drugs?Violence?Gangs?7
The answer is driving. Driving is the most dangerousthing your teen will ever face.GEICO is focused on teensafe driving. We realize that teens face many problems;drugs gangs violence. While they are all huge worriesfor parents, automobile crashes are proven the highestrisk to teens today. Safety experts, including those atGEICO, recognize that years of scientific research areindisputable. Car crashes take more young lives thanall other causes, and teens die in car crashes in largerproportion than any other driving group.Statistics from IIHS tell us that car crashes are theleading cause of death for teens.In 2005, nearly 5,300 teens ages 13-19 died in motorvehicle crashes.According to a study by IIHS, during the first six monthsof solo driving, novice drivers are at the highest risk forcar crashes.8
Crash rates are four times higher for 16-19 year olddrivers than for older drivers.Why is this?It’s due to lack of experience.Even though crash rates dramatically decline during thefirst six months of solo driving, they still remain significantly higher through the teen years relative to adults.9
The first six months of driving are the riskiest for teens.They show the highest incidents of auto-related crashesand injuries.That is why it’s important for parents to be especiallycautious during this period of the learning-to-drive process. Teens are at the highest risk of getting into an autoaccident due to many reasons, including: Skills Knowledge Experience Maturity Driving environmentWhat factors cause the most teen crashesand injuries?1. Not wearing safety belts2. Too many passengers (1 is too many when it comes toteen drivers)3. Night driving4. Drowsy driving5. Distractions such as text messaging6. Speeding7. Driving errors from inexperience8. Alcohol10
As parents, what can you do to help?Your job just begins when your teen gets a license.To help ease your teen into the driving process, parentsshould be aware and take extra precautionsSet a good example for your teen: Wear your safety belt Don’t speed Practice defensive driving techniques Do not use a cell phone while driving Don’t run red lights11
Emphasize to your teens that when they are behind thewheel, they must have their passengers wear safetybelts.Limit the number of passengers, especially fellowteenage passengers.Limit your teen’s driving time, especially at night. It isimportant for them to practice night driving but duringthe novice driving period there should be restrictions.Do not allow your teen to use their cell phone inthe car.If it is an emergency, teach them to pull safely off tothe side of the road to make or receive a call. And,absolutely no text messaging.12
Teens need rest. Encourage them not to drive whenthey are drowsy or allow friends to drive when they aretired.Practice driving with your teen in bad weather conditions. While it is important for them to learn the basics,they have to learn how to drive in all conditions.And of course, no drinking or drugs.Develop a parent-teen driving contract with your teen.Their new freedom shouldn’t be abused and you havethe authority to require more practice driving hours,more driving in bad weather, to limit passengers or toenforce a no cell phone rule. By insisting on a drivingcontract you as the parent have the ability to controlthe learning process for your teen and ease them intodriving.13
We’d like parents to reinforce graduated state driverlicensing programs so teens must have a longer period of supervised driving and more restrictions in theearly months. GDL has saved lives and reduced crashesamony young drivers.To learn more about your state’s graduated driverlicensing laws, please visit the Information Institute forHighway Safety’s page on state driving laws for teens:http://www.iihs.org/laws/state laws/grad license.htmlWe also encourage you to visit GEICO’s online AutoSafety library. This library is full of information for teensand parents to help stay safe on the road. We have various brochures and DVDs that appeal to both teens andparents available to download, watch online or orderfree copies.Our Real Teen Driving DVD showcases real teen drivers, making real mistakes and discussing their opinionson how they and their friends drive. It’s all very real.We hope this information will help you help your teensto drive smart and drive safe.14
As an insurance company, GEICO would like everyone to drive safely. That's a very broad message and a very big wish. And in terms of safety we think one audience in particular needs special attention novice drivers those drivers that just got their license and are out on the road all alone for the first time.
