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Safety is No Accident. Visit the National Safety Commission - America's Safety Headquarters for driver safety information, auto recalls and teen safe driver tips.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Act Out Loud: Teens Working Together for Driving Safety
Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death for young people in the US with more than fourteen deaths per day on America's roads. That is more than the number of teen deaths by murder, suicide, and cancer combined. It is a tragic issue that driving safety experts have been working a long time to try to solve. While there have been some gains, mainly through Graduated Driving License (GDL) and mandatory seat belt laws, the death and injury rate remains too high.
One way to solve the problem is to look to the teenage drivers themselves for a solution. The National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) is an organization that is trying to make a difference. Made up of more than 70 national nonprofit organizations, business and industry partners, and federal government agencies, NOYS has developed some innovative ways to get teens involved to get the word out to other teens about driving safety.
As sponsors of the National Youth Traffic Safety Month® (NYTSM), NOYS is sponsoring a nationwide contest to involve teens in spreading the traffic safety message. Act Out Loud is a competition to get teams from high schools throughout the nation to spread the word among their peers about the dangers of teen driving. The contest will run from October 14, 2011 – January 13, 2012. There are more than $90,000 in cash and prizes with a $10,000 grand prize going to the winning team along with a private concert from musical star Skyler.
The rules are simple but it will take a lot of team-work and creativity to win the grand prize. To win, the team must complete three projects:
- Create a T-shirt with an awareness message that focuses on preventing the use of mobile communication devices behind the wheel
- Create a billboard message that promotes awareness for passenger restrictions
- Create a Facebook "Yearbook" and send letters to national and state legislators to push for stronger GDL laws
For more information about entering the contest or partnering with NOYS, visit: http://www.actoutloud.org/
Labels: driving safety, gdl laws, Graduated Driver Licensing, graduated licensing
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Proposed North Dakota GDL Changes
North Dakota is the only state in the nation without a GDL system. As confirmed by the figures in the last few years, vehicular crashes are the leading cause for teen fatalities not only in North Dakota, but all over the country.
Currently, North Dakota is the only state that has not yet implemented a graduated licensing program. North Dakota only has two stages to its licensing, with a learner's permit being available at age 14, and a full license granted at the minimum of age 16. They lack the intermediate stage, which is the time new drivers should have passenger and nighttime driving restrictions.
This has prompted the North Dakota Coalition for Graduated Drivers Licensing which includes the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the North Dakota Department of Transportation, the North Dakota Department of Health and AAA North Dakota to support a bill to amend that.
The graduated driver's license bill, which is to be presented to the 62nd Legislative Assembly this year recommends a change: three stages to the licensing for new drivers. The additional intermediate phase will include the necessary passenger and nighttime driving restrictions during the first few months of unsupervised driving to better train new drivers into acquiring the skills necessary to be better-equipped safe drivers on the road.
Currently, North Dakota is the only state that has not yet implemented a graduated licensing program. North Dakota only has two stages to its licensing, with a learner's permit being available at age 14, and a full license granted at the minimum of age 16. They lack the intermediate stage, which is the time new drivers should have passenger and nighttime driving restrictions.
This has prompted the North Dakota Coalition for Graduated Drivers Licensing which includes the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the North Dakota Department of Transportation, the North Dakota Department of Health and AAA North Dakota to support a bill to amend that.
The graduated driver's license bill, which is to be presented to the 62nd Legislative Assembly this year recommends a change: three stages to the licensing for new drivers. The additional intermediate phase will include the necessary passenger and nighttime driving restrictions during the first few months of unsupervised driving to better train new drivers into acquiring the skills necessary to be better-equipped safe drivers on the road.
Labels: GDL, gdl laws, Graduated Driver Licensing, graduated licensing, learners permit, north dakota, safe teen drivers
Thursday, April 30, 2009
NJ to Tag Young Drivers with Vehicle Decal
Garden State Sponsors First-in-the-Nation Bill
If you knew there was a teenager at the wheel of the car in front of you, would you drive any differently?
New Jersey is the first state in the nation to require new drivers ages 21 and younger to display identifying decals on their vehicles.
Gov. Jon Corzine signed the law recently, and it goes into effect next year.
According to motor vehicle officials, the decals will most likely be a small reflective rectangle attached to the front and rear license plates to help police enforce restrictions on probationary drivers.
Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety, said that police would use them to determine whether teens are violating the state driving curfew and passenger restrictions.
Authorities will not use the decals to target young drivers or pull them over without cause, she cautioned.
Ron Gesualdo, owner of Gene's Driving School in Matawan, said the decals are long overdue and will save lives.
"The parents are for it," he said. "The kids don't say anything, but you know what they're thinking."
The thinking amongst young people is that the decals will only mean more trouble for teenagers.
"That's going to mean police are going to be bothering us even more," said Tebvon Mcneil, 18, of Paterson. "They see that sticker on the car, they're just going to be pulling us over for no reason. Are there drugs in the car? That's the first thing they're going to think, because we're teenagers."
And not everyone thinks the new law will improve driver safety. Jennifer Collins, a 29-year-old Hamilton resident, pondered whether the stickers would distract other drivers who are seeking them out while driving.
"That really doesn't make any sense to me, honestly," she said.
So other drivers using the same car can remove them, Velcro is being considered to attach the decals.
"It will probably be nondescript and simple, and the public at large is probably not even going to notice it," Fischer said.
The decals were one of many new driving restrictions Corzine signed for young adults with probationary licenses, which allow them drive unsupervised under specific conditions.
Other restrictions include moving the driving curfew to 11 p.m. from midnight; allowing only one other young person in the car; and banning the use of cell phones, even hand-free ones.
"These restrictions are in place because they represent the things we know put teens at risk," Fischer said.
David Weinstein, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said although Delaware and Connecticut have toyed with the idea, New Jersey is the first state to require the decal.
Dawn Hopkins, spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Transportation, said they are contemplating offering residents a reflective orange magnet that says, in black, capital letters: "NOVICE DRIVER." The magnets would be voluntary.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 61 percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2007 happened in vehicles driven by another teenager. Twenty percent of all passenger deaths occurred when a teenager was behind the wheel.
New Jersey's decal law was prompted by the driving death of a 16-year-old honor student in Morris County, Kyleigh D'Alessio, who perished in 2006 while riding in a car driven by a teenager with a probationary license.
"No issue is more important than protecting our children, so these efforts are essential to that," Corzine said. "We don't want to lose the beauty and the gifts that a Kyleigh could bring to all of us, and we need to take every step possible to make it something that doesn't occur in the future."
Did you know that courses are available to educate drivers on the rules of the road and the latest defensive driving techniques? Try one now!
If you knew there was a teenager at the wheel of the car in front of you, would you drive any differently?
New Jersey is the first state in the nation to require new drivers ages 21 and younger to display identifying decals on their vehicles.
Gov. Jon Corzine signed the law recently, and it goes into effect next year.
According to motor vehicle officials, the decals will most likely be a small reflective rectangle attached to the front and rear license plates to help police enforce restrictions on probationary drivers.
Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety, said that police would use them to determine whether teens are violating the state driving curfew and passenger restrictions.
Authorities will not use the decals to target young drivers or pull them over without cause, she cautioned.
Ron Gesualdo, owner of Gene's Driving School in Matawan, said the decals are long overdue and will save lives.
"The parents are for it," he said. "The kids don't say anything, but you know what they're thinking."
The thinking amongst young people is that the decals will only mean more trouble for teenagers.
"That's going to mean police are going to be bothering us even more," said Tebvon Mcneil, 18, of Paterson. "They see that sticker on the car, they're just going to be pulling us over for no reason. Are there drugs in the car? That's the first thing they're going to think, because we're teenagers."
And not everyone thinks the new law will improve driver safety. Jennifer Collins, a 29-year-old Hamilton resident, pondered whether the stickers would distract other drivers who are seeking them out while driving.
"That really doesn't make any sense to me, honestly," she said.
So other drivers using the same car can remove them, Velcro is being considered to attach the decals.
"It will probably be nondescript and simple, and the public at large is probably not even going to notice it," Fischer said.
The decals were one of many new driving restrictions Corzine signed for young adults with probationary licenses, which allow them drive unsupervised under specific conditions.
Other restrictions include moving the driving curfew to 11 p.m. from midnight; allowing only one other young person in the car; and banning the use of cell phones, even hand-free ones.
"These restrictions are in place because they represent the things we know put teens at risk," Fischer said.
David Weinstein, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said although Delaware and Connecticut have toyed with the idea, New Jersey is the first state to require the decal.
Dawn Hopkins, spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Transportation, said they are contemplating offering residents a reflective orange magnet that says, in black, capital letters: "NOVICE DRIVER." The magnets would be voluntary.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 61 percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2007 happened in vehicles driven by another teenager. Twenty percent of all passenger deaths occurred when a teenager was behind the wheel.
New Jersey's decal law was prompted by the driving death of a 16-year-old honor student in Morris County, Kyleigh D'Alessio, who perished in 2006 while riding in a car driven by a teenager with a probationary license.
"No issue is more important than protecting our children, so these efforts are essential to that," Corzine said. "We don't want to lose the beauty and the gifts that a Kyleigh could bring to all of us, and we need to take every step possible to make it something that doesn't occur in the future."
Did you know that courses are available to educate drivers on the rules of the road and the latest defensive driving techniques? Try one now!
Labels: GDL, graduated licensing, teen driver
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