DEARBORN, Mich. – New research into crash videos of teen drivers has found significant evidence that distracted driving is likely much more serious a problem than previously known, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
The video analysis finds that distraction was a factor in nearly 6 out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes, which is four times as many as official estimates based on police reports.
Researchers analyzed the six seconds leading up to a crash in nearly 1,700 videos of teen drivers taken from in-vehicle event recorders.
The results showed that distraction was a factor in 58 percent of all crashes studied, including 89 percent of road-departure crashes and 76 percent of rear-end crashes.
NHTSA previously has estimated that distraction is a factor in only 14 percent of all teen driver crashes.
"Access to crash videos has allowed us to better understand the moments leading up to a vehicle impact in a way that was previously impossible," said Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
"The in-depth analysis provides indisputable evidence that teen drivers are distracted in a much greater percentage of crashes than we previously realized."
The most common forms of distraction leading up to a crash by a teen driver included:
- Interacting with one or more passengers: 15 percent of crashes
- Cell phone use: 12 percent of crashes
- Looking at something in the vehicle: 10 percent of crashes
- Looking at something outside the vehicle: 9 percent of crashes
- Singing/moving to music: 8 percent of crashes
- Grooming: 6 percent of crashes
- Reaching for an object: 6 percent of crashes
"This research confirms that passengers and cell phones are the two most prevalent distractions for teen drivers involved in crashes," said AAA Michigan Public Affairs Director Susan Hiltz. "The risk factors are compounded by the fact that young drivers have less experience behind the wheel. It's vital that parents take an active role in educating their teens about distracted driving. Coupled with strong graduated driver licensing and distracted driving laws, helping provide proper protection for teen drivers is a community-wide effort."
AAA recommends that state laws prohibit cell phone use by teen drivers and restrict passengers to one non-family member for the first six months of driving.
Graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws allow new drivers to gain practical experience in a relatively safe environment by restricting their exposure to risky situations.
33 states have laws that prevent cell phone use for teens and 18 states have passenger restrictions meeting AAA's recommendations.
AAA recommends that parents teach teens about the dangers of cell phone use and restrict passengers during the learning-to-drive process.
Before parents begin practice driving with teens, they should create a parent-teen driving agreement that includes strict ground rules related to distraction.
AAA offers a comprehensive driver education program, where teens can learn specifically how using a cell phone affects driving abilities and increases their crash risk.
For more information, visit TeenDriving.AAA.com.?
Teens have the highest crash rate of any group in the United States. About 963,000 drivers age 16-19 were involved in police-reported crashes in 2013, which is the most recent year of available data. These crashes resulted in 383,000 injuries and 2,865 deaths. The full research report and b-roll video of teen driver crashes is available on the Foundation's website.
The Foundation partnered with researchers at the University of Iowa to conduct this study.