Distracted Driving Campaign

Initiated by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council's Board of Directors, the Regional Highway Safety Campaign aims to decrease the number of crashes, deaths and severe injuries in our area caused by distracted driving. It specifically complements the Maryland Strategic Highway Safety Plan by educating parents and their teens about the risks of multi-tasking when driving and how to best avoid those risks.

The Dangers of Distracted Driving

• It is estimated that 3 million crashes occur annually as a result of distracted drivers (American Automobile Association).
• In Maryland, the ten-year period between 1999-2008, 1,319 people have died and annually an average of 14,000 people are injured in inattentive driving crashes.
• In the Baltimore region, distracted driving accounted for over 25 fatalities and 1,000 injuries annually.

BMC’s Regional Traffic Safety Distracted Driving Campaign is a public education effort to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and reduce crashes, deaths and severe injuries that result from distracted driving. This campaign focuses education efforts on teen drivers and their parents because young drivers are the most at risk when driving with distractions.

Why Teens?

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 – 20 year olds, an age group that is increasingly using devices that may contribute to distracted driving, such as cell phones, mp3 players and other hand-held devices.

• Between 1998 and 2008 502 people in Maryland died in teen driver crashes and over 17,000 were injured.
• In 2008, there were 35 inattentive driving-related fatalities in Maryland in which 20 were the driver.
• According to a Virginia Tech and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration study, distracted drivers accounted for 80% of the crashes in their study and 18 to 20 year-olds were 4 times more likely to be involved in crashes.(NHTSA and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute)
• Reaching for a moving object increases the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by 3 times; applying makeup by 3 times; dialing a hand-held device (typically a cell phone) by almost 3 times; and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times. (NHSTA and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute)
• According to the National Highway Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year-olds, accounting for 40% of all teen deaths.
• While teens make up only 10% of the U.S. population, they account for 14% of all crash fatalities. (NHSTA)
• Mile for mile, teenagers are involved in 3 times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers. (NHSTA)
• About 60% of teenage passenger deaths occurred in crashes with a teen driver. (NHSTA) (pdf)
• Studies show nighttime driving restrictions typically are associated with crash reductions of 50 to 60 percent during the restricted hours. (IIHS) (pdf)
• Crash risk for teenage drivers increases incrementally with 1, 2, or 3 or more passengers. With 3 or more, fatal crash risk is about 3 times higher than when a beginner is driving alone. About two-thirds of all crash deaths of teens that involve 16-year old drivers occur when the beginners were driving with teen passengers.(IIHS) (pdf)
• Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. (NHTSA)
• Graduated driver licensing programs reduce the incidence of fatal crashes of 16-year olds drivers by an average of 11 percent. The most comprehensive programs cause a 20 percent reduction in fatal crashes involving 16-year old drivers. (MD's Graduated Driver Licensing System, pdf)

Why Parents?

Statistics show that laws, and rules set by parents, influence teen driving. Although Maryland has a Graduated Driver Licensing System (pdf), parents can also enforce those rules at home and enact additional rules such as not allowing cell phones, texting, or peer passengers in the car. Parents can also influence their teens by acting as a good example. The following is a list of actions parents can take to positively influence their teen drivers.

• Put down your cell phone. Wait to make calls and don’t pick up incoming calls while driving. Cell phone distractions also include checking messages and texting. If there is an emergency, pull over to the side of the road before making a call.
• Avoid eating while driving. Take the time to eat before or after your drive, go into the restaurant to eat or pull over somewhere safe.
• Use your car’s audio system wisely. Keep the volume at a level that is not distracting and allows you to hear sirens on emergency vehicles. Change the station, CD or tape only when the car is not moving.
• Pre-set your electronics. If you are using a GPS or DVD system, set it before you leave or pull over to a safe spot to enter data or adjust settings.
• If other passengers become too loud, ask them to keep it down so you can concentrate on driving safely.
• Set family rules. Make sure all family members know what the rules are for driving without distractions and what the consequences are for breaking those rules. In addition to the tips above, set curfews and passenger limits.
• Practice Maryland’s rules. Review the laws and regulations in Maryland’s Graduated Driver License System brochure (pdf). It includes a number of rules teen drivers must follow. Know the rules on unsupervised driving, curfews, and passenger limitations, and enforce them.

Program Supporters

The Regional Distracted Driving Campaign is supported by BMC and its Board of elected executives. The campaign was developed in response to Maryland’s efforts to improve traffic safety through its Strategic Highway Safety Plan and resulting programs, which include the Choose Safety for Life campaign.

For more information:

Bala Akundi, bakundi@baltometro.org or 410-732-0500 x1019

Stephanie Yanovitz, syanovitz@baltometro.org or 410-732-0500 x1055

Last Updated on Friday, 16 July 2010 12:50