Let Your Teen Driver Be The Safety Spokesperson

March 12, 2009

I'm a grandmother, and it's going to be a while before any of my grandkids begin driving, but my own son suffered a terrible and tragic accident so I know how frightening it can be when your child is injured while driving. Several of our Ask Patty staffers have teenaged children who are nearing D-Day -- their 16th birthday and being eligible to receive their driver's license -- so the subject of teen driving safety is something that is near and dear to all our hearts.

The statistics are staggering: Car crashes are the number one killer of teens in the United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data show that, each year, on average:

More than 300,000 teens are injured in car crashes
Nearly 8,000 teens are involved in fatal crashes
More than 3,500 teens are killed

Many automotive companies focus on safety programs for teen drivers: Bridgestone has the "Safety Scholars" Video Program, Ford sponsors the "Driving Skills for Life" teen safety program, and Allstate's got the "Teen Safe Driving Pit Stop Tour." The list goes on and on, and I'm sorry for leaving some programs out, these are just the ones that pop into the top of my mind when I think about teen safety programs.

If you've got teen drivers in your household, I'd like to also point out the "Speak Up" public safety program sponsored by the Ad Council and the American Automobile Association. It doesn't require any special training or classes; it just encourages young adults to be the spokesperson in their peer group against reckless driving by empowering them to speak up when they are in the car with friends and don't feel safe.

According to Ad Council research, eight in 10 teens said that if a friend told them their driving behavior made their friend feel uncomfortable, they would listen. And four in 10 teens said that in the past six months they had been in a situation when they felt concerned that a friend's driving behavior put them at risk as a passenger.

So with these two simple facts in mind, their supporting website www.urthespokesperson.org simply advises:

"If you're riding with friends and you don't feel safe, you need to speak up. Why? Well, car crashes are the number one killer of teens and young adults. By far. Driving fast, text messaging and even eating can cause things to go wrong very quickly. By keeping the driver in check, you can help save lives. Speak up! You are the spokesperson against reckless driving."

The site features several tongue-in-cheek videos to make the point. It also shares quick facts and real stories to help increase awareness about the dangers of reckless driving and educate teens on how to be safe drivers by focusing on safe speeds, avoiding distractions, wearing seat belts, and understanding the differences associated with driving SUVs. These are all the same things that we, as parents, try to teach our teenagers, but the goal here is to ask the teenagers to share it with their peers.

Finally, the site asks teenagers to sign a pledge to speak up each when they ride with friends and feel unsafe. The site says "It's your life in their hands, so stand up and let everyone know that you're not afraid to say something," and rewards teens who make the pledge with code to share the following offer on their own sites and blogs.

According to NHTSA, per mile driven, sixteen-year-olds are involved in more than five times as many fatal crashes per mile driven as adults. If you've got a young driver in your household, we know you don't want to be affected by this statistic.

So share this information and website with your teen driver, encourage them to make the pledge, and empower them to be the spokesperson for safe driving whenever they are in the car with peers who make them feel unsafe.