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Let me open this letter to say how heartened I am that you found value in the
AutoWeek special Teenage Driver Education issue we recently completed. This is a
subject about which we as parents - as well as driving enthusiasts - hold dear to our
collective hearts.
While we are just one voice at AutoWeek, we hear others ask to join our driving safety
chorus.
In the days following this special section, we have had parents, teachers, Fortune 500
companies - you name it, they've called - ask how they can be involved and how they
can spread this word of driver safety. For that reason we believe it is valuable to over-
print this section for broader distribution.
Thanks to you for your interest and your help in getting the word out. In order to affect
change we must first recognize the problem and begin to talk about it. This, I truly
hope, opens that dialogue.
Sincerely,
Dutch Mandel
Editor & Associate Publisher
AutoWeek
BACK TO SCHOOL >
Teenage Driving
>>Since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, about 2600 American troops
have been killed in combat and war-related incidents. The count is
well-known and updated regularly in news reports. Did you know
during the same 41-month period, more than 22,000 teenagers, ages
15 to 19, died in traffic accidents on U.S. roads? >> By Kevin A. Wilson
Parents: It’s your job. Some practical advice, page 21 > Why the old-school method just isn’t enough, page 22 > Important things to
know if ADHD is part of the equation, page 23 > Give your kid the edge before that chance slips away, page 26 > The right car is out
there for your teen, page 28 > The cost of insuring your teen, and how to go about getting a discount, page 29 > The manufacturers get
in on training future customers, page 30 > Parenting 007: Sometimes a little underhanded maneuvering is required, page 32
‘‘T
HINK ABOUT THOSE ering of crash risk.” but we haven’t agreed
deaths on the roads for a Right now 44 states and > We contacted numerous on the same answer.
moment,” says Phil Berardelli, the District of Columbia advanced driving-skills programs “This is an exciting
author of Safe Young Drivers (and an article have GDL laws—and by for teens in the course of time in driver education
on page 21 of this magazine). “A highway AAA’s count, they all have preparing these articles. Below is circles,” asserts Bill
a list of websites where parents
fatality is as violent, bloody and gruesome at least some elements of can find out more about the Van Tassel, manager of
as anything in warfare. It causes family the recommended array programs available—some are driver training operations
members to grieve just as deeply as those of of restrictions on age, dri- national touring programs, others for the national AAA.
combat casualties; the lives cut short are ving experience, curfews are more regional in nature. “There’s a lot of focus
This list does not purport to be
just as tragically young, or younger.” and other limitations. But comprehensive, and inclusion
on the subject. One good
Berardelli uses the statistical compari- not one has an “optimal” should not be construed as an question is whether the
son when called upon to speak in public on program as defined by endorsement by this magazine, goal should be to make
the subject. It’s not an exact comparison— NHTSA, AAA and IIHS, but parents interested in finding us into good driving
there are far more teen drivers than there the leading advocates for programs for their own teens citizens for life, or is the
could get started here.
are soldiers deployed in Iraq. But the dismal such programs (to see how goal to keep them safe
fact is America watches many more young your state measures up, www.driversedge.com for that first six months
people die in traffic accidents than it does check out www.nhtsa.gov). www.streetsurvival.org or 1000 miles?”
www.masterdrive.com
in military service, and yet there’s very lit- Critics, however, note www.drivers.com/topic/8/ Why not both? “You
tle political and public activity related to GDL lowers fatalities by www.drivesafer.com probably want both,”
stemming these deaths. decreasing the numbers of www.drivingconcepts.com says Van Tassel, “but it
“We just accept the fact that somewhere teens on the road, not nec- www.teendrivers.com makes a difference in
www.carcontrolschool.com
between 5000 and 6000 kids will die on essarily by improving their www.survivethedrive.org
how you set priorities.”
our roads this year and another 300,000 ability as drivers. www.drivingmba.com We’ve been arguing
will be seriously injured. And it’s just not “Let’s give IIHS and its www.roadreadyteens.org priorities for a long
acceptable,” says Ron Langford, who creat- campaign for GDL credit www.tirerack.com time now. Thompson,
ed the MasterDrive driver-education pro- for slowing down the push (click the “motorsports and Langford and many oth-
driver’s schools” button on the
gram in Colorado after the death of his own to license 16-year-olds,” home page) ers who teach advanced
16-year-old daughter in a traffic accident. says David Thompson of http://raceschool.com/newsite skills maintain the IIHS’s
Fortunately, Langford is not the only one the Florida-headquartered /teen_academy.html former leader, Brian
thinking this way. The time is ripe for car New Driver Car Control http://nsc.org/train/ddc/student/a O’Neill, was such a
live25.cfm
enthusiasts—who have long bemoaned the Clinic, which offers pro- www.xtrememeasures.org
staunch opponent of
state of driver education in America—to grams in 14 states. “But driver education—saying
contribute to an evolving effort to address what does that really do? It that skills-training pro-
> For more in-depth studies of
the problem. The past decade has seen ris- puts a barrier in the way”— teen driver-education issues, see
grams did not work to
ing interest in how we teach teens to drive a financial or regulatory the following websites. Most improve teen safety and
and license them to do so. On one hand, wall to leap over—and that have search functions, and citing numerous studies
states—with the encouragement of AAA, cuts the numbers of drivers entering the terms teen, teen to support his assertion—
the insurance industry and the federal gov- in the youngest age cohort. driver or driver education will turn that he almost single-
up a wealth of information.
ernment—have implemented Graduated “That’s not a small accom- handedly set progress
Driver Licensing programs. Generally plishment,” says Berardelli. www.nhtsa.gov back a decade or more.
speaking, GDL programs demand more “Kids are alive who would www.aaafoundation.org Counters the IIHS’s
www.iihs.org
hours of on-the-road training with a parent have been dead doing it the www.nsc.org Fleming: “We’re not
or guardian in the car during an extended old way. But for it to work www.chop.edu/injury anti-driver education; it
learner’s permit period. GDLs then put best, it really needs parents may be a good thing to
restrictions on the hours during which to step up.” > For a complete list of websites teach these skills. It just
and reference materials visit
newly licensed drivers can be on the road Many parents seem to autoweek.com
shouldn’t be confused
and how many teen passengers they can recognize GDL isn’t the with making teens safer.
have with them and so on. be-all and end-all (those Generally speaking, it’s
“Graduated licensing works,” asserts fatality rates are still too high), which is not an issue of skills; the risk has to do
Ann Fleming, senior vp for communica- why the rise of GDL programs has also with attitudes. You can teach them skid
tions at the Insurance Institute for seen a parallel proliferation of programs control all day and it won’t affect the
Highway Safety. Indeed, teen fatality rates that aim to expose teens to advanced dri- teenager’s sense of... invulnerability.”
typically fall 20 percent to 25 percent in ving skills such as emergency lane-change A recent study by Children’s Hospital
the period following a state’s enactment of maneuvers, skid recovery and how to make of Philadelphia (CHoP), sponsored by State
GDL. “In state after state the fatality rates best use of antilock brakes, traction control Farm Insurance, concluded that the first
have decreased,” Fleming said. “Because and other technologies. Talk to those lead- six-month period of licensure is the most
[GDL] introduces teens to driving over an ing these programs and you find a lot of dangerous time for any driver, and the
extended period, and it protects them from passion and a lot of varied approaches to crash risk remains twice as high as that
the high-risk situations until they have how to teach these skills, though. America for adult drivers until age 25. This is also,
more experience—late night, numbers of is recognizing a problem, and a lot of peo- perhaps not coincidentally, the age at
passengers. We have seen a significant low- ple are trying to do something about it, which scientists now say a human brain
Parental
the license.
Responsibility
Safety experts agree good basic driving skills require
at least 100 hours of supervised instruction behind
the wheel. That means gradually exposing kids to
Is Critical
as many of the potential conditions they will face on
the road as possible. For both of your sakes, begin in
a place of safety, such as an empty parking lot, and
move carefully from there into conditions of increas-
BY PHIL BERARDELLI ing complexity—but only after the teen has mastered
each new skill and challenge.
MANY PARENTS REMAIN SHOCKINGLY CLUE-
>> less about the magnitude of the risk for teen drivers.
They give in much too easily to pressure from teens to
obtain a driver’s license on or near their 16th birthday. Likewise,
Don’t hurry
There is no specific age at which he or she must
begin driving. Forget about your own inconvenience
many allow their kids to breeze through the perfunctory steps and concentrate on teaching. If at any time you feel a
that pass for driving instruction in this country, then blithely sense of inattention, resistance or rebellion, become
hand over the keys to the family vehicle, or buy one for their the parent again. Say something like: “I’m sorry, but
young driver right away—often something flashy, top-heavy or you’re not taking this as seriously as I would have
too powerful. hoped, so we’re going to suspend the lessons until
What is so puzzling is how strongly this situation counters you start showing a better attitude.”
typical parental behavior for the first 16 years of a child’s life.
During that time parents eagerly spring for all kinds of instruc- Likewise, don’t quit early
tion: piano lessons, dancing lessons, skating lessons and so forth. Even after your teen is licensed, instruction should
They cart the kids endlessly back and forth to such sessions, continue. Lay down sensible limits, such as no
spending hundreds of hours and lots of money. passengers for the first six months, curfews, and
No parent would pay for only six piano lessons and then absolutely no drinking or drugs. Make it a point,
expect a child to perform at a concert. And no parent would whenever you and your teen travel together, to
send a child to six swimming lessons then demand a champi- require him or her to drive. It’s a good way to continue
onship athletic performance. to sharpen skills and detect bad habits. And remem-
So why is it, when it counts the most—when it becomes a ber that until your child reaches age 18, you still have
matter of life and death—that so many parents shrink from their the authority to suspend or revoke driving privileges.
responsibility to instruct, supervise and protect their children?
Why do they settle for only six hours of driver training behind Last, enjoy this
the wheel? This approach is not punitive—it’s loving and caring.
Most states have at least imposed graduated licensing pro- It conveys how much you desire to see your child
grams, which strengthen some of the requirements for beginning receive the best training possible, just as you have
drivers—and have resulted in decreased fatality rates—but those all along. And it’s a great time to reacquaint yourself
laws go only so far. with your offspring.
Given the situation and the dangers, responsible parents Isn’t this worth at least as much as piano lessons?
have no choice. They must do for their beginning drivers what
they have done during earlier phases of their children’s develop- Phil Berardelli is the author of Safe Young
ment. They must assume responsibility to supervise a safe and Drivers: A Guide for Parents and Teens,
complete driving instruction program. www.safeyoungdrivers.com
Death at
their inputs. Parking-lot driving ranges
virtually ensure a lifelong habit of aiming
and scanning much too near the front of
the Wheel
TRADITIONAL DRIVER
the car—where you can see the cones or
lines on the pavement. Instructional time
behind the wheel is absurdly brief.
Traditional driver ed produces kids who
EDUCATION DOES LITTLE can’t drive but think they can because
TO EDUCATE NEW DRIVERS they have “earned” their licenses. Many
BY KENNETH L. ZUBER crash. Some die. Others mutilate and
kill. Appalled adults ask why and request
reform. To date, that reform consists of
Graduated Driver Licensing.
Years ago a student of mine told me
Stirling Moss once said practice does make
perfect, but only if one practices the right
things. Well, look around at what passes
for driving. The people performing those
atrocities include the parents charged by
GDL with responsibility for teaching their
teens to drive. Obviously, GDL alone is
not the magic bullet.
In the end, it seems clear the people at
the top of the driver ed establishment
don’t love driving. If they did, they could
not help but to teach it well.
These problems are not insoluble.
TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOL driver education is to get teenagers driver’s Proper philosophy, psychology, content
By Marquita Bedway
DOES THIS SOUND FAMIL- attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, To be able to help ADHD drivers, it’s
Driver Ed vs.
[
Driver’s Edge
PERFORMANCE-DRIVING EXERCISES
PREPARE TEENS FOR THE RIGORS
OF THE ROAD BY BOB GRITZINGER ]
AS THE SEDAN the obstacle course without and president of Driver’s Edge than out on the highway.”
COMPANY: State Farm COMPANY: MetLife Auto Insurance COMPANY: MetLife Auto Insurance
PROGRAM NAME: Steer Clear Discount PROGRAM NAME: Teens on the Road to Safety PROGRAM NAME: Sunday Drive
REQUIREMENTS: New drivers age 16 to 24 REQUIREMENTS: Complete one year REQUIREMENTS: Log 20 trips of at least
watch a video, study a manual then take a accident free 30 minutes each with a parent or guardian
quiz. They must also complete 20 to 30 trips DISCOUNT: $50 cash for each year of in the passenger seat
and keep a log of their strengths and weak- being accident free DISCOUNT: $100 U.S. Savings Bond
nesses. After completing these requirements,
teens meet with their State Farm agent
DISCOUNT: Up to 15 percent
Opportunities training and instruction for teenage drivers helps lay a founda-
tion of responsibility that they will hopefully carry with them
into their adult years,” he adds.
SPY KIDS
for drivers, and states with such licensing
programs are specifically targeting that
group first.
But when it’s your kid on the road,
how can you be sure he or she is driving
safely? After all, accident rates, deaths
HOW TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR TEEN DRIVER and injuries are merely the tip of the
BY ERIC ADAMS iceberg—close calls, fender benders and
run-ins with the law can be troubling
indicators of problematic behavior. You
IT’S A PROBLEM AS OLD usually between 3 p.m. and midnight, can’t ride shotgun on every outing of
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