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SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 autoweek.com


September 2006

Dear Concerned Driver:

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.

It is a subject, too, that effects us all.

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

18 AUTOWEEK SEPTEMBER 4, 2006


Getting started
with your teen

‘‘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

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 AUTOWEEK 19


[ Back to School: Teenage Driving]
is fully developed and capable of making technology has changed recently, with ABS programs, such as Driver’s Edge (see page
mature decisions. and traction control and so on. Somehow a 26), this one has the students drive their
Issues of decision-making are com- driver needs to understand how his car own cars, so logistics are easier.
pounded for teens diagnosed with ADHD, works. What’s emerging is a sense that we On another front, NHTSA has undertak-
but the expert recommendations for par- might need more lifelong learning or at en a study of the Las Vegas-based Driver’s
ents of such teens in the article on page 23 least periodic recertification, like we expect Edge program to evaluate its effectiveness
have wider applicability. With the excep- of pilots or railroad engineers.” in crash reduction, data the school has been
tion of the advice about managing medica- We could start with more extensive accumulating for years. In a Florida study,
tion, the rest can apply to any teen. training before a teen gets that first license, Thompson’s program saw a 77 percent
CHoP convened an international expert perhaps something like Langford’s reduction in crashes. In Colorado, Langford
panel that recommended four initiatives MasterDrive program or any one of a num- claims 25 percent to 55 percent improve-
for action: first, to strengthen Graduated ber of other schools listed in this issue. ment for graduates of MasterDrive. But
Driver Licensing in all states; second, to Langford says the typical commercial dri- other studies show no real gain after six
stress training to optimize the two-second ver school’s objective is to train students to months—the data are ambiguous. AAA’s
sequence just prior to a crash with meet a lowest-common-denominator stan- Van Tassel says the auto club’s official
improved hazard detection and response dard: the ability to pass the state licensing stance is to hold back, neither supporting
skills among novice drivers; third, tools to exam, which isn’t very demanding. In nor opposing such skills-focused training.
the words of Florida’s Thompson: “The Van Tassel himself is a graduate of the Bob
natives are eating the coconuts, but the Bondurant school, a racer in SCCA club
coconuts have no nutritional value.” racing and Solo competition, so you might
Passing the exam may be the top con- assume that made him one of “us,” a
cern of teens and parents. “But that’s not believer in the value of advanced driver
our objective,” says Langford. “We want training. He is not yet convinced.
the kid who graduates from our school to “What if,” he asks, “there’s no net gain?
be as well-prepared, as competent and con- What if you give people the skills, but you
fident as we can make him or her. Driving also make them more confident, perhaps
is a psychomotor skill. The brain doesn’t more confident than their actual skills war-
learn it by talking about it; you have to do rant? We just haven’t seen the evidence.
it, repeatedly.” We’re really interested in seeing what the
That’s why Langford’s program—offered NHTSA study with Driver’s Edge turns up,
in Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and there are some others to watch.”
and in Orange County, California—includes So the Holy Grail for the leaders of
52 hours of behind-the-wheel training. these programs seems to be to accumulate
In other areas, parents are latching onto a database that would prove to the safety
one-day or half-day programs—either free community such programs do work, if not
or for nominal fees, thanks to sponsorship to reduce teen fatalities in that first six
by car manufacturers and tiremakers—that months, then in the sense of creating good
give teens at least a taste of the advanced drivers for life.
skills to supplement what they get through “What we really need,” says Kjell
the state-certified schools, which those Kallman of the Jim Russell Racing School,
under 18 typically must attend before being which runs teen programs in conjunction
allowed to take the exam. with Yokohama Tire and Discount Tire,
One such free program operates under “is a consortium of some kind. We need to
the rubric of Street Survival, a South come together and agree on what such a
enhance the teen-parent relationship; and Carolina-based driving school. The touring program should entail, set a code of ethics
fourth, it insists on incorporating the teen program is operated in conjunction with and a curriculum. Then we can accumulate
perspective to make sure intervention mea- the BMW Car Club of America and spon- the database that will prove to insurers
sures will “make sense” to teens. sored by The Tire Rack, where vice presi- these programs have merit. And if you can
Taken together, these four points sug- dent Matt Edmonds is excited by an initia- convince them it is worth offering a dis-
gest that, rather than the either/or argu- tive to expand by working with other car count, you’ll really drive some change.”
ments that tend to develop when dis- clubs. He convened a meeting of the BMW On the following pages you will read
cussing driver training, there may be a CCA, SCCA and the clubs for Porsche, much more about teens and driving, how
both/and answer that would serve us all. Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo owners, all people can work as citizens to improve
Former NHTSA administrator Dr. Ricardo of which have advanced training programs the state of driver education in America,
Martinez, a specialist in emergency and for their members. and how parents can help their own teens
trauma medicine, says GDL and issues of “This will give us the opportunity to do survive this perilous period. Whether you
high-skills training “help bring it home to many more schools at the same time all have a teen of your own or not, you don’t
the supper table.” According to Martinez, over the country,” says Edmonds. “All you want to sit back at this critical juncture—
“A driver’s license is something we pass an need to run a program is a moderator and these are the people who will be driving
exam for once and then we’re assumed people trained and ready to ride in the cars in the lane next to you for many years
competent for life. Just look how much and instruct.” Unlike some other similar to come. ■

20 AUTOWEEK SEPTEMBER 4, 2006


how?
First, take control
All states grant parents authority to decide whether
their minor child should obtain a learner’s permit and
a license. If a parent thinks a teen is not yet ready,
then that parent need do nothing—granting a permit
or a license is what requires action, in the form of a
signature. In 10 years of writing and speaking about
this subject, this has never ceased to amaze me.
When parents express concerns about prospective
drivers, and I advise them to hold off the instruction
until they are confident their kid is ready, many look
stunned—as though they had never even considered
refusing to cave in to pressures for the permit and

Parental
the license.

Take the time

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

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 AUTOWEEK 21


[ Back to School: Teenage Driving]
trol in their own lives. Driving equals con-
trol, and teens understand that at the deep-
est level. Driver ed, instead of using this
powerful motivation, does everything it
can to kill it. It harangues endlessly about
yielding and obeying and never encourages
competence in the task of control. Is it any
wonder kids are not receptive?
Content: Every generation calls driver
ed a Mickey Mouse course. Enough said.
Method: Traditional driver ed employs
tricks and gimmicks to simulate skill and
understanding. The initial introduction to
driving should never be done with simula-
tors. Kids need to feel a car’s reaction to

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

>> driver education does not work.


The National Safety Council, in
its 2004 Teen Driver: A Family Guide
licenses and to teach them good citizen-
ship as defined by driver education. Driver
ed proponents believe driving is develop-
and method exist. Driver ed nonsense can
be replaced with programs that apprentice
teens to skilled and experienced drivers
to Teen Driving Safety, even asserts the mental (like walking and talking). Thus who can lead them to mastery. They’ll
failure is global. That’s not the worst of it little actual coaching is given in the car— find it enjoyable and rewarding to do so,
though. This information is anything but it’s not about mastering a new skill, but and it will be safer for us all on the roads.
new. At least as far back as 1962, Edward about adopting a defensive posture. It’s Do the best you can for your kids,
A. Tenney ’s book, The Highway Jungle, pretty much up to the student to learn to including high-performance driving
told “The Story of the Hoax in Our Schools drive by himself while the teacher figura- schools if feasible. Spread the truth, expose
That Is Putting Death at the Wheel.” tively holds his hand. Classroom instruc- the irrational, set good examples, and keep
An honest, careful analysis of tradition- tion amounts to preaching and attempting intolerable pressure on those who can
al driver ed can lead to only one conclu- to scare the students into using “mature effect the radical changes needed to replace
sion: It doesn’t teach driving, let alone good judgment” without giving them the driver ed with real education for driving. ■
driving. Its faults are fundamental and per- knowledge necessary to do so.
vasive. The damage it causes is crippling Psychology: A teenager’s primary job is Kenneth L. Zuber is the author of
and permanent. Its philosophy, psycholo- becoming an adult. They labor tirelessly to Joyriding: A Practical Manual for Learning
gy, content and method are wrong. stop mindlessly obeying orders. They are the Fundamentals of Masterful Driving.
Philosophy: The idea behind traditional being forced by nature itself to achieve con- Available from www.motorists.org

22 AUTOWEEK SEPTEMBER 4, 2006


Rx for Safer
Teen Drivers
FOR TEENAGERS AND YOUNG ADULTS
DRIVING RISKS ARE VERY HIGH; ADD ADHD
AND IT MAKES THE EQUATION SCARY

By Marquita Bedway

DOES THIS SOUND FAMIL- attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, To be able to help ADHD drivers, it’s

>> iar? Your newly minted teen


driver flies into the garage and
moments later spins back to the
kitchen in a frantic search for the car keys.
In a panic—in which he accuses everyone
or ADHD.
Now before you snigger and say,
“Where was ADHD when I was growing
up?” understand it was something you
knew as “being hyper” or “excitable.”
important to know something about the
disorder. ADHD is the most common
childhood neurobehavioral disorder. Core
symptoms include inattention, impulsivi-
ty and hyperactivity. It persists into adult-
of moving them—he finds the keys, com- ADHD has been around forever, but only hood, with a strong hereditary basis. With-
plains about being late and races out the officially diagnosed in 1980. Today experts out intervention, ADHD can negatively
door. Not much later he earns his first believe between 5 percent and 8 percent affect school, work and the general ability
speeding ticket. of children and young adults are afflicted to function. The good news is there are
It’s a classic case of “Ready, fire, aim!” with ADHD. several ways to effectively operate in the
behavior, and though many teens (and Properly addressed, those with ADHD mobile world.
adults) experience isolated incidents like can lead normal, healthy lives. But first There are three types of ADHD:
this, if this pattern occurs across different they must acknowledge what they are inattentiveness (where no hyperactivity
situations over several years, it suggests dealing with—otherwise there could be or impulsivity is present); hyperactivity/
the teen may have a condition called trouble, particularly behind the wheel. impulsivity (mostly found in preschool-

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 AUTOWEEK 23


[ Back to School: Teenage Driving]
age children); and a combination of the An effective driver must remember to in dollar-value damage ($4,221 vs. $1,665).
two others (inattention, hyperactivity and slow down in construction and school Additionally, the ADHD group had difficul-
impulsivity). Couple any type of ADHD zones and allow time to get to a destination ties with sustaining attention and following
with operating a motor vehicle and you (nonverbal working memory). An effective the rules of driving and they demonstrated
have a recipe for disaster—a perfect auto- driver must quickly grasp that a detour sign poor resistance to distraction.
motive storm. requires a decision (verbal working memo- What does this say? The problem is
Studies challenge the notion you can ry), must calm down before getting behind not that these at-risk drivers failed to learn
outgrow ADHD. Indeed, as you grow the wheel (self-regulation), and must resist driving safety. Rather, they do not reliably
with it unaddressed, so can the problems the temptation to use a cell phone and/or follow through with what they know when
increase. Children and teens with ADHD reach for something on the floor (motor stressed or distracted. The fix is knowing
are at greatest risk for academic problems, control). Failure in these areas could be what to do to keep them on a safe course.
school suspensions and expulsions, and fatal for any driver, but more so for a green-
for dropping out of school. Additionally, horn teen pilot. DRIVING SAFETY: THE PARENTS’ ROLE
studies show adolescents with ADHD are A quarter-century of study illustrates It is no surprise to parents of teens with
two to four times more likely to have significant driving risks associated with ADHD that their kids need guidance,
motor vehicle crashes and are more than ADHD. One study confirmed young dri- direct supervision and above all support.
three times more likely to sustain injuries. vers with ADHD received speeding tickets All parents should view state driving
requirements as the minimum, and recog-
nize extra work during driver training can
prevent accidents and injuries.
J. Marlene Snyder, Ph.D., offers excellent
suggestions in ADHD & Driving: A Guide
for Parents of Teens with ADHD. This
should be a mandated read. Snyder empha-
sizes communication, the establishment of
rules and proactive monitoring.
Communication should start when chil-
dren are young and still listening. Ongoing
discussions throughout childhood/adoles-
cence emphasizing safe driving and self-
restraint must be the voice in your teen’s
ear when he or she is not with you. For
example, the next time your child is with
you when you’re cut off in traffic, resist the
urge to use the single-digit salute. Instead
talk about why you are controlling your
temper; be a good role model. This includes
staying off the cell phone while driving and
obeying the posted speed limit. Yes, this
parenting stuff is hard.
Driving rules must include incentives.
Why? A leading theory suggests inability at an astonishingly higher rate than those Rules should be specific, like “Have the
to control behavior—“behavioral inhibi- without ADHD (100 percent vs. 54 per- car home by 9 p.m.” Establish a written
tion”—drives ADHD. Monitoring behav- cent), had licenses suspended or revoked driving contract where your child restates
ioral inhibition is what enables a person to more frequently (32 percent vs. 4 percent) and/or writes down the rule each time
self-regulate behavior. Our executive func- and were involved in more accidents (80 before he or she leaves. Stipulate in the
tions, like a car’s engine control unit, allow percent vs. 52 percent). Also, more crashes contract such things as acceptable stereo
us to reflect on and adjust behavior. by young adults with ADHD involved volumes and no cell phone use (including
Four essential executive functions— injuries (60 percent vs. 17 percent). hands-free), and limit the number of
nonverbal working memory (the ability to In 2002 Russell Barkley, Ph.D., and passengers in the car with your teen.
use the past to plan for the future); verbal colleagues examined driving histories and Do not forget to monitor rule compli-
working memory (self-talk, problem solv- driving behaviors of 105 teens and young ance. Let your teen know you will reward
ing and reading comprehension); self-regu- adults with ADHD compared to 64 teens positive behaviors—with praise, extra drive
lation of mood/arousal (moderate emotion- and young adults without ADHD. They time or even a later curfew for special
al reaction to events); motor control (con- also examined the cognitive skills neces- occasions. But inconsistent enforcement
trol of off-task behavior and restarting sary for safe driving—reaction time, follow- of the rules is equivalent to having no rules
tasks)—are key to coping with life success- ing the rules and visual discrimination. at all. Don’t let small things slide; it is not
fully. For our brain to operate as a high-per- Group differences clearly showed teens the time to allow your teen to negotiate
formance engine, executive functions must and young adults with ADHD at higher your rules.
work properly. A teen driving with prob- risk in number of citations, license suspen- Just as cars require regular maintenance,
lems in any of these areas is at high risk. sions/revocations, and crashes as measured teens with ADHD must be accountable.

24 AUTOWEEK SEPTEMBER 4, 2006


male teens... DRIVING SAFETY: MEDICATION’S ROLE
A comprehensive driving program is
not complete without a frank discussion
about the medication benefits for indivi-
duals with ADHD. Think of medication
as the essential “brake fluid.” Numerous
studies show medication is the most
effective treatment for ADHD symptoms,
and recent studies found stimulant
medication improves driving perfor-
mance of drivers with ADHD. (While an
exhaustive discussion of medication is
beyond the scope of this piece, interested
readers can read Barkley’s Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A
Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment,
...are more likely than females to die in third edition.)
a motor vehicle crash; two of three crash If parents decide their children need
death victims ages 13 to 19 in 2003 were medication, they should familiarize
male. Young males are more likely to themselves with how long the medication
engage in risky driving behaviors such works and how it enhances a teen’s
as speeding. According to the Youth Risk
driving. Parents should carefully observe
Behavior Surveillance Study of 2003, high
patterns, since every medication works
school males are more likely than their
female counterparts to report driving differently.
after drinking (15 percent vs. 9 percent) Teens should also be encouraged to
and are less likely to wear a seatbelt self-monitor. Does the teen make more
(22 percent vs. 15 percent never or rarely driving mistakes between 5 p.m. and
wear a seatbelt). 6 p.m., when his or her medicine is wear-
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL ing off? If so, talk with the treating physi-
cian to discuss options to cover your
Enforce contract agreements. Apply conse- teen when he or she is on the road. Often,
quences immediately, before normal using both long-acting and short-acting
activities are resumed. It is fact: Teens medicines is optimal. Finally, if medica-
with ADHD learn much better when con- tion enhances the teen’s driving perfor-
sequences are on the spot, before they can mance, the privilege to drive must be
forget it was their inappropriate driving tied to medication compliance. This is
behavior that triggered the response. one of the most important points in the
Notice the consequences do not include driving contract.
lectures, sermons or guilt trips. If the teen To get the optimal performance out
refuses to comply with the rules, immedi- of turbocharged teens, parents need to
ately confiscate keys and end all driving design and enforce solid driving contracts,
privileges. “Defiance and driving are a obtain the best driving instruction
deadly duo,” Snyder points out. possible, and consider treatment options.
Is proactive monitoring too Big Brother? Assemble a crew—including driving
Maybe, but how important is your child’s instructors and medical/psychological
life? Monitoring can be as simple as asking experts—equipped to help your teen safely
friends and neighbors to watch your teen’s navigate life’s road. And remember that
driving and report both positive and nega- even for multiple-world champion
tive behaviors. Verify your child’s story by Michael Schumacher to win, he first has
checking the car’s odometer, or consider to finish the race. ■
investing in equipment that can check
how fast your child was driving as well as Marquita Bedway, Ph.D., is a psychologist
his or her whereabouts (see accompanying in private practice in Grosse Pointe,
story, page 32). Michigan. She holds a faculty position at
Putting your teen in a safe vehicle is Wayne State University and was co-direc-
another essential move. To the extent it tor of the ADHD Clinic at Children’s
is possible, choose cars with good safety Hospital of Michigan.
ratings. And we can’t stress enough: You
should strongly consider enrolling your > For a comprehensive list of reference
teen in an effective defensive-driving materials used in this article, visit
program (see page 30 for a list of schools). autoweek.com and click on this story.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 AUTOWEEK 25


[ Back to School: Teenage Driving]

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.”

>> picked up speed


toward a line of
cones delineating
an area deliberately soaked
with slippery, soapy water,
incident.
“It was like being on a roller
coaster,” was the initial reac-
tion from almost-15-year-old
daughter Katie Gritzinger, the
(www.driversedge.org), where
skidding is just one part of the
curriculum.
The skid-control drill is part
of the half-day Driver’s Edge
That’s not to say standard
driver training doesn’t serve a
purpose—it’s just that its pur-
poses don’t include providing
real-world experience dealing
the driving instructor yanked novice teen at the wheel of the program. Driver’s Edge travels with skids and spins and past-
on the emergency brake. The Pontiac who just weeks earlier to more than a dozen cities the-limit driving situations.
result was predictable: The had completed the first phase nationwide each year, and is Being of the requisite age to
novice teen driver sat paralyzed of a Michigan-mandated driver free to participants age 15 to qualify for state-mandated dri-
behind the wheel as the car education course. 21 (and their parents, who are ver training coursework does
pivoted and spun in a complete Needless to say, this exer- encouraged to attend). The pro- not necessarily mean a teen is
circle before coming to a stop. cise occurred well outside the gram is sponsored by Bridge- ready for the rigors of the road.
On lap two, the driver react- bounds of the state-mandated stone Firestone North Ameri- And taking a state-mandated
ed to the impending disaster curriculum, where learning the can Tire and funded by the spon- driver training course does lit-
but still managed to collect an basics (what does an octagonal sor, grants and private donations. tle more than move your teen
orange cone before clearing the red sign mean?) and mastering “In this country none of us from holding bicycle handle-
danger zone. Finally, on laps the pitfalls of parking get more is really taught how to drive,” bars to holding down a seat
three and four the car skidded attention than hands-on train- says Payne. “No one is really behind the wheel.
on cue, but this time the teen ing in emergency maneuvers. preparing you for what happens Typical driver training pro-
driver took command, turned “You get to do things here out on the highway. We’d grams follow the Graduated
in the direction of the skid, that most people never get to rather have you experience it Driver Licensing system, teach-
and expertly drove through do,” says Jeff Payne, founder here for the first time, rather ing a state-required curriculum.

26 AUTOWEEK SEPTEMBER 4, 2006


Covered in the coursework are
basic in-car skills like driving
forward and backward, smooth
acceleration and stopping,
turning techniques, vehicle
familiarization, lane changes,
adjusting speed for curves and
hills, driving in residential
neighborhoods, multilane
and expressway driving, city
driving, driving on one-way
streets, watching for pedestri-
ans and parked cars, and
parking maneuvers. Driving
exercises are augmented with
classroom work on everything
from driving laws, driver safe-
ty, drunken driving, driver
awareness, crash avoidance,
and understanding road mark-
ings and signs.
“Once they complete our
course, they’ve learned basic
skills,” says Steve Roberts,
an instructor for Lake Orion
(Michigan) Community exercise, which emphasizes the of its Driving Skills for Life Sixteen-year-old newbie dri-
Driving School, a suburban racing skill of looking where (www.drivingskillsforlife.com) ver Tina Wolverton found the
Detroit private driver training you want the car to go and training materials and offered skidpad exercises eye-opening.
program. “They’re at a level steering out of a skid, Driver’s it to licensed teen drivers in “In drivers training, we
where they can operate a Edge also includes an antilock Michigan this summer. The just talked about [skid control],
car, but they’re not very braking/evasive lane-change daylong program, similar to we didn’t get to experience
experienced.” maneuver that points out the Ford’s $300-per-day Family and it,” Wolverton said. “If it ever
Skids and antilock braking limits of braking and cornering Friends Driving Program open happens to me, I’ll know what
stops are addressed in videos in ABS-equipped BMW 3 Series to anyone with a friend or to do. It makes me feel like a
shown in class, but hands-on sedans. Static modules cover relative on the Ford payroll, more confident driver.”
experience is usually limited to general vehicle knowledge like runs young drivers through a If programs like Driver’s
students who take the course tire care (hey, the program is series of skidpad and vehicle- Edge boost competence beyond
during icy winter months, and sponsored by a tire company), dynamics exercises. standard driver training courses,
then only on a limited basis. checking fluids, correct driving then true driving schools like
Roberts encourages students position for seats and mirrors, those offered by Bridgestone,
to seek out more advanced and rules and regulations of the percentage of Bob Bondurant, Skip Barber,
programs that allow drivers to road as presented by a police young people Jim Russell Racing and
practice emergency techniques. officer (in this case, Michigan Mid-Ohio are the ultimate in
ages 16 to 20 with a
Driver’s Edge seeks to fill State Police Lt. Gary Megge). accident prevention. And each
driver's license:
that void, but realistically Megge is impressed with of them offers programs—some
AGE
can only accommodate 30,000 Driver’s Edge, mostly because in conjunction with automak-
16 56.8
teens and their parents per he knows young drivers will ers—specifically geared toward
year, a drop in the proverbial drive past the limit at some 17 61.3 teens on the highway, rather
bucket compared to the mil- point, whether deliberately or 18 72.0 than maximum lap speeds. If
lions of newly licensed teens due to inexperience, and need 19 79.4 it sounds counterintuitive to
taking to the highways each to know how to react when 20 81.8 send your teen to racing school
year in the United States. that time comes. GENDER to learn to become a safer dri-
“I think this should be “How many kids have done Male 74.1 ver, think again.
mandatory in every driver this stuff? None,” says Megge. Female 73.1 “One of the best insurance
training school,” said Driver’s “How many of their parents RACE policies is to spend the money
Edge parent/spectator Ellen have? All of them.” to go to a good driving school,”
White 81.3
Reid Monkman. “They’re While Driver’s Edge takes urges Payne. “It just simply
Black 48.6
being put in situations that its show on the road every comes down to training, train-
Hispanic 52.4
they would never normally year, it’s not the only program ing and more training, which is
experience.” available. Ford created a Asian 76.9 something we don’t get enough
In addition to the skid hands-on, on-track version American Indian 46.8 of in this country.” ■
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 AUTOWEEK 27


[ Back to School: Teenage Driving]
Stars of the crash test rating system
NHTSA ratings out of five stars (with side airbags)
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP

COMPACT passenger ★★★★★


Chevrolet Aveo Side crash, front ★★★★★
rear ★★★★
Four-door body style
Rollover ★★★★
Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
passenger ★★★★★
to buy: No powerful sports cars Side crash, front ★★★★ Chevrolet Impala

What’s the and no SUVs. Or, as AAA’s Bill


Van Tassel said, “Probably not
rear ★★★★
Rollover ★★★★
Four-door body style
Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
Right Car? anything they really want.”
Honda Civic
passenger ★★★★★
Side crash, front ★★★★★
rear ★★★★
>> IF YOU’RE READING THIS Matt Edmonds, The Tire Rack Four-door body style
Rollover ★★★★
magazine, there’s a good chance “My daughter had a Jetta and Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
passenger ★★★★★
your child has grown up in a house- my son has a four-door Audi A3. Ford Fusion
Side crash, front ★★★★
hold where enthusiasm for cars You want something new enough rear ★★★★★ Four-door body style
and driving is considered the norm. to have ABS, traction control, Rollover ★★★★ Frontal crash, driver ★★★★
It’s not the norm in America, but side airbags and a good crash test passenger ★★★★
when it comes time to put your teen performance, plus something nim- Hyundai Elantra Side crash, front ★★★★
behind the wheel you’ll face the ble enough that they can make an rear ★★★★
Four-door body style
same concerns as all other parents: evasive maneuver. Make sure they Rollover ★★★★
Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
What’s the right car? know how to use those features.” passenger ★★★★
First, carefully consider whether Side crash, front ★★★★★ Honda Accord
you want your new driver to even Phil Berardelli, author “My older rear ★★★★ Four-door body style
have a car of his or her own. Having daughter had a 1981 Pontiac Rollover ★★★★ Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
passenger ★★★★★
to ask for the keys, and wait for one LeMans in 1988. My younger
Mini Cooper Side crash, front ★★★★
of the family’s cars to be available, daughter, who wasn’t really inter- rear ★★★★
could be regarded as a rational ested right away, had a 1975 Two-door body style
Rollover ★★★★
restriction of a novice driver’s mobil- Cutlass, a big solid car. She had Frontal crash, driver ★★★★
passenger ★★★★
ity. A car of his or her own can be three fender benders. Now what I Hyundai Sonata
Side crash, front ★★★★
something the teen earns, not only find myself recommending is a rear—no data Four-door body style
with money, but with behavior and Taurus station wagon. They have Rollover ★★★★ Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
demonstration of responsibility and airbags, and they can have ABS. passenger ★★★★★
increasing mastery of driving skills. Side-curtain airbags? They help, Saturn Ion Side crash, front ★★★★★
rear ★★★★★
Cars and insurance aren’t but only a little, and there are other Two-door body style
Rollover ★★★★
cheap. Even if your personal wealth considerations. This myth we have Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
allows for the addition of a new car about the safety of the vehicle—I passenger ★★★★★
Side crash, front ★★★★ Pontiac G6
to your fleet for the exclusive use would never recommend a new car
rear ★★★★ Four-door body style
of a teen, do a little pencil work to for a new driver.
Rollover ★★★★ Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
see if it might not be wiser to invest When they’re first learning to passenger ★★★★
in a used car—perhaps insisting on drive, you don’t want to encourage Side crash, front ★★★★★
Scion xA
some contribution from the teen— showing off. A Taurus wagon is rear ★★★★★
Four-door body style
and set the rest aside for college. big enough that if they crash it or Rollover ★★★★
Frontal crash, driver ★★★★
Any youthful driver, especially get hit and they’re belted in, they’ve passenger ★★★★
one raised in a car-loving atmos- got a good chance of survival. More Side crash, front ★★★★ Volkswagen Jetta
phere, will want something flashy likely, they’re going to scrape the rear ★★★★ Four-door body style
and fast. But that’s not a wise choice car or have little fender benders— Rollover ★★★★ Frontal crash, driver ★★★★
for one still on the steep end of the why pay for a new car and that kind passenger ★★★★
learning curve. Remember, when of insurance? There’s time for nice Toyota Corolla Side crash, front ★★★★★
rear ★★★★★
you’re picking a car for your teen cars later; at first all they need is Four-door body style
Rollover ★★★★
to drive, you’re not trying to be their mobility and safety.” Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★
best friend. It’s not about buying passenger ★★★★★
Side crash, front ★★★★ Volvo S40
affection; it’s about being a parent. David Thompson, New Driver
rear ★★★★ Four-door body style
As we researched this package Car Control Clinic Thompson
Rollover ★★★★ Frontal crash, driver ★★★★
of stories with experts in the field, recommends the Volkswagen Jetta, passenger ★★★★★
we asked what cars they recom- New Beetle and Mini. His website, Side crash, front ★★★★★
MIDSIZE
mended and what they bought www.carcontrol.com, links to arti- rear ★★★★★
for their own teens. There is cles on how to make the decision Acura TSX Rollover ★★★★
wide diversity of opinion, but there to get a car for a teen, and what Four-door body style
is general agreement on what not that car should be. Frontal crash, driver ★★★★★

28 AUTOWEEK SEPTEMBER 4, 2006


Can I Get a Break Here?
INSURANCE FOR TEEN DRIVERS
INSURING A TEEN DRIVER IS EXPEN- statistical correlation
sive, but a few discounts are still available between grades and
to make quality coverage more affordable. on-the-road loss rates.
Many insurers stopped offering discounts Discounts vary,
for completion of driver education pro- as insurance is regu-
grams about a decade ago, just as Gradu- lated by state, not the
ated Driver Licensing programs were roll- Federal government.
ing out across the country. The premise Still, several programs
is research showed no long-term improve- could be worth look-
ment in insurance loss rates (read: damages, ing into. Be sure to make some calls, or by MasterDrive can get a 15 percent dis-
injuries and deaths) for traditional driver work with your agent to seek out the dis- count from Allstate, which offers only a
education, so the discounts were dropped. counts available in your state. In Colorado 5 percent discount to students who com-
There are often discounts for students with for instance, students completing a course plete less rigorous programs. Below are
good grades, however, because there is a of study that closely matches that offered some insurance company programs:

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

RECOGNIZED SCHOOLS: In-house program

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 AUTOWEEK 29


[ Back to School: Teenage Driving]

Driving instructor Randy


Bleicher, in Orange County,
California, explains to high
school students Nick
Frontiera and Uzma Zaveri
how cells phones are
distracting and can cause
accidents while driving at
Ford Motor Co.’s Driving
Skills for Life program.
Driving Skills for Life is
designed to help prevent
driving fatalities by making
teens better drivers.

Automakers’ makers, and most feature dynamic instruction in parking lots


or on tracks.

Learning Such programs provide an opportunity to learn skills in a


controlled and safe environment, says John Mendel, senior
vice president of auto operations for American Honda. “Proper

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.

for Teens Ford community relations manager James Graham says it is a


natural fit for a company that builds cars to teach people how to
drive them. Graham notes, however, Ford’s Driving Skills for
TRAINING THAT GOES
BEYOND THE NORM Life program is not coordinated through the sales and marketing
department but by the philanthropic Ford Motor Co. fund.
BY LARRY EDSALL While basically a computer-based program, Ford offers hands-
on instructional sessions, too. One such session was held earlier
this year in Orlando, Florida. “One school [in that community]
>> MANY PARENTS—ESPECIALLY AMONG THE CAR- lost five teens in a six-month period,” Graham said. School offi-
smart who read AutoWeek—are capable of teaching the traffic cials sought help, and Ford sent its professional instructors to
awareness and dynamic skills needed to keep a car safely under train students from four schools.
control. But even those who can do so find teaching their own “This [Driving Skills for Life] is a several-million-dollar-a-
adolescents is sometimes emotionally challenging for both year program,” said Graham, “but if you can save one life...”
parties. This is one reason for the proliferation of specialized The following is a look at automaker-affiliated teen driver
teen-driver instructional programs. Many are backed by auto- programs:

30 AUTOWEEK SEPTEMBER 4, 2006


Audi Driving Experience departure angles, and dealing with steep car that can simulate low-traction situations.
>> Conducted with the Panoz Racing side slopes. It ends with a stopping-dis- The one-day course runs $1,175,
School, the Audi Driving Experience offers tance exercise and parking-box maneuvers. the two-day session is $2,195 and the
one- and two-day programs for teenagers The one-day class is $400, the two- three-day is $3,095. One-day classes are
at either the Road Atlanta or Sebring day session is $700. The next open one- limited, but there are several two- and
circuits, where the emphasis is on learn- day dates are Sept. 16, Oct. 28 and three-day sessions each month. For avail-
ing—in a safe environment—how to deal Nov. 22. The next open two-day dates ability and registration information visit
with extreme driving situations. are Nov. 20-21 and Dec. 29-30. For infor- www.bondurant.com.
The one-day session begins with class- mation see www.bmwusa.com.
room instruction on vehicle dynamics, then Honda Teen Defensive Driving Program
moves into an Audi A4 for a low-speed Chrysler Road Ready Teens >> Honda offers a 15 percent tuition
finesse driving exercise that includes instruc- >> Road Ready Teens is a home-based discount if a teen’s parent goes through
tion on proper seating position, hand program for parents and the new drivers the adult defensive-driving program at
placement, steering techniques and driver in their families. Road Ready Teens is the same time. Honda’s program is offered
awareness. Students then go to a wet skid- available in English and Spanish, and can in conjunction with the Mid-Ohio Sports
pad to learn about grip and car-control be accessed at www.roadreadyteens.org. Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, though
techniques. The next exercise is designed Road Ready follows Graduated instruction takes place off the racing
to teach the teen how to bring a car Licensing principles. The program includes surface at a vehicle dynamics center.
smoothly and safely back onto pavement an interactive instructional computer simu- Honda also offers beginning motorcycle
after one or more wheels has left the road. lation for the teen driver and a 12-page rider instruction that is open to teenagers
A controlled-braking session covers manual for parents. One of those pages and parents.
ABS and obstacle avoidance under is the “parent-teen road rules contract” Students start in the classroom, then
braking, and is followed by an emergency that, like the entire program, covers basic move into a Civic EX coupe for a wet-
single-lane-change exercise and a test that driver-ed stuff, such as “I will obey all braking drill, emergency lane-change and
reviews the day’s instruction. The two-day traffic laws.” collision-avoidance exercise, and then
program provides much more on-track on to a skid car to simulate adverse trac-
time and adds a slalom and double-lane- Ford Driving Skills for Life tion conditions. There’s also a vehicle-
change maneuver. >> Though primarily a web-based educa- maintenance session. The fee for a one-
The next one-day session, which tional program for teenagers and parents, day teen (or adult) defensive-driving
costs $595, is Oct. 7. Two-day sessions, Ford’s Driving Skills for Life includes program is $350 (the two-day motorcycle
at $1,095, are scheduled Sept. 16-17, behind-the-wheel sessions around the course is $295, and includes the use
Oct. 28-29, Nov. 18-19 and Dec. 27-28. country. The web-based part, available in of one of the school’s bikes). The teen
For more information and enrollment forms English and Spanish, has instructions for program runs on weekends through
see www.audidrivingexperience.com. parents and various learning activities for mid-November. For information visit
the teen. Six hundred students attended a www.midohio.com.
BMW Teen School summer driving camp at Ford’s Michigan
>> The BMW Performance Driving School Proving Ground. A session is planned this Toyota Driving Expectations
is in Spartanburg, South Carolina, near fall in Southern California, with eight more >> Toyota Driving Expectations, a new
the German automaker’s U.S. assembly anticipated in 2007. For more information four-hour program held at various venues,
plant. It offers one- and two-day programs visit www.drivingskillsforlife.com. offers classroom and at-the-wheel driving
designed for inexperienced drivers ages education for newly licensed teenagers
15 to 18. Participants need a learner’s General Motors/Bob Bondurant and their parents. New drivers are taught
permit. School of High-Performance Driving proper techniques, and parents can learn
Instruction takes place in 3 Series >> Students in Bondurant’s advanced to break their own bad habits.
sedans on the BMW test track, which is teen-age driving course must be licensed Distraction and reaction, and the rela-
equipped with water jets that can be and have at least six months of on-road tionship between the two are emphasized
activated to simulate obstacles suddenly experience. Bondurant’s teen-specific in on-course instruction that includes
appearing in the roadway. course is based on the car-control tech- evasive maneuvers, wet and dry braking,
The one-day program includes class- niques taught in the school’s high-perfor- and a slalom. The day ends with teens
room and on-course instruction ranging mance class, not in its racing instruction and parents in a joint session.
from hand and seat positions to learning program. Enrollment is free, but sessions fill
balance and cornering techniques in a The teen course spans one, two or quickly. The next events are scheduled for
slalom, a handling and performance ses- three days, and stresses active driving Oct. 6-8 at Paramount’s Kings Island
sion, and control in under- and oversteer skills to build confident and aware drivers. in Cincinnati (registration starts Sept. 11),
situations. Lane-change techniques, acci- Some 80 percent of the time is spent in a Oct. 13-15 at The Woodlands Racetrack
dent avoidance and a safety challenge vehicle—such as a Cadillac CTS—with an in Kansas City, Kansas (registration starts
competition round out the day. instructor for one-on-one teaching that Sept. 18) and Oct. 20-22 at Wild Rivers
The two-day program reinforces first- stresses not only the physics of car control, Waterpark in Irvine, California (registration
day learning and adds a double-lane- but the new driver’s need to elevate the starts Sept. 25).
change and an off-road session that eyes to be aware of what’s coming down For additional information visit
includes water crossing, approach and the road. Students also drive a special skid www.toyotadrivingexpectations.com. ■

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 AUTOWEEK 31


[ Back to School: Teenage Driving]

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

>> as the car itself—as soon as a


teenage driver gets behind
the wheel, inexperience and
immaturity join forces to create a star-
tling potential for havoc. The Insurance
and most often when other teenagers
are in the car.
Fortunately driving deaths are decreas-
ing from year to year—something IIHS
attributes mostly to safer cars—and
course, but new technologies including
GPS, cellular communication and
onboard vehicle sensors can make you
feel like you are. The devices can moni-
tor your teen’s driving and provide
Institute for Highway Safety reports more states are adopting phased license- reports when you check in or download
the crash rate per mile driven for 16- acquisition programs (Graduated Driver data, or even give you live updates to
to 19-year-olds is four times the risk Licensing), in which young drivers are your PC or cell phone when your young
for older drivers. Other findings: More only granted full licenses after getting driver exceeds certain limits.
than half of teenage driving deaths safely through various provisional peri- Though some people might wince
occur on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, ods. IIHS says 16 is the highest-risk age at the idea of such close monitoring,

32 AUTOWEEK SEPTEMBER 4, 2006


arguing it is a violation of privacy, HIGH-TECH TRACKING tions and will even unlock doors if they
others embrace technology as a way of >> If you wish to have more information get locked out.
keeping their kids safe, particularly there are options. Perhaps the most effec- Davis Instruments (www.davisnet.
when lives are at stake and significant tive and simple is a service called Report com), the best-known manufacturer of
amounts of money are invested in My Teen (www.reportmyteen.com). vehicle-monitoring technology, offers the
family vehicles. Launched by a pair of concerned moms in CarChip, an OBD II scanner that plugs
Texas, the service involves placing a into the OBD port and stays there during
BASIC MONITORING bumper sticker on your teen’s car that vehicle use, continuously recording up
>> Before you start shelling out cash encourages other drivers to report prob- to 75 hours of vehicle activity. Parents
for high-tech devices, remember how lematic driving by dialing a telephone can download the activity and view
your own parents kept an eye on you— number and entering a vehicle-specific graphically the time and date for each
without the benefit of GPS, the internet four-digit PIN. The message is instantly trip, the distance traveled, the speed and
or cellular phone networks. It’s a good forwarded to your cell phone and is any hard braking or rapid acceleration.
bet your dad kept mental notes on stored online for later access—typically At $139, it’s a reasonable expense with
odometer readings before he turned over for playing to the driver. Though there is a variety of alternative applications,
the keys. To see if your own kids are significant potential for abuse with this including reading engine-warning light
driving more often and farther than system, particularly from practical jokers, codes and testing emission status.
you’ve agreed to, check the odometer the creators claim prank calls are easily
before they leave and after they get home. weeded out. They argue the system HONESTY
If you’ve left the kids home with works primarily because the young dri- >> Finally, don’t assume your kids are
instructions not to drive, check the car vers know they can be reported for any driving only your car or even their own.
when you return—James Bond-style, sort of infraction, by anybody, and they If their friends have hot rides—and many
by placing your hand on the hood to see instinctively alter their behavior when of them will—it’s a good bet they’re
if it’s hot and been running recently. If they know they’re being watched. getting their chance at the wheel. Ask
it’s a hot summer day, look underneath Teen Arrive Alive (www.teenarrive them about it and be honest about why
the car for dripping condensation from alive.com) has a different tech strategy: you’re asking. Explain to them that dri-
the air conditioning. Does the car have using the teen’s own GPS-enabled cell ving performance cars safely and well
an automatic toll-paying device, such phone to keep tabs on him or her. Parents takes practice and familiarity with how
as an EZ-Pass or FasTrak? Check the can log onto online accounts from a vehicles function.
account online every week to see if there computer or cell phone to locate their
are any unauthorized trips downtown child’s Nextel cell phone. If the phone is
or to the beach. A few more tricks: in a moving vehicle, the system shows
Monitor credit-card activity, which its position, direction of travel and speed.
might reveal out-of-town merchants, gas (Sprint’s Family Locator and Verizon’s
purchases or other vehicle expenses— Chaperon programs offer similar ser-
including, say, emergency repairs—and vices.) A decal on the back of the car
monitor the contents of the car for enables other drivers, as with Report
telltale receipts and other evidence of My Teen, to report unsafe driving. The
unauthorized trips. recording is immediately forwarded to
None of these, however, will tell you your phone.
anything about how safely (or not) the By far the most reliable and effective—
kids are behaving at the wheel. Before and most expensive—systems use
stepping up to serious hardware, consider embedded data recording and vehicle
this final trick: If you or your spouse hap- sensors to monitor driving, allowing par-
pens to be an exercise nut and you have ents to see how the car is being accelerat-
a wrist-mounted GPS, you can activate ed and braked, as well as the basics of
the device before the kids set off on a speed, average speed and distance trav-
daytrip or even a short drive to work. eled. For $389, Alltrack USA (www.all
While they’re inside getting ready, start trackusa.com) customers get a small
the timer and place the wrist unit in the black-box recording device that uses
car where it can find the GPS satellites, GPS tracking and a cellular connection
perhaps in the rear window, concealed to transmit data about how and where When you think your kids are ready to
behind a headrest. Most devices will the car is being operated. Parents can approach it maturely, offer to let them
last 15 hours on a single charge, so when access the information through either a take a performance-driving program to
they get home you can upload to the web browser or any telephone—an auto- familiarize them with vehicle physics
“fitness” software all the data from their mated voice will give an address, direc- and safe handling. This will help get it
trip: distance traveled, approximate tion of travel and speed. The system also out of their systems and also make them
geographic area covered—including can alert parents when the car exceeds better drivers under most circumstances.
towns and roads, depending on the soft- preset speeds or if it crosses predefined In the end you want them to be good,
ware—and, critically, maximum speed geographic boundaries. It will send safe drivers all the time—not only when
and average speed. e-mails when the kids arrive at destina- they suspect someone’s watching. ■

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 AUTOWEEK 33


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