Driver's ed

Let's talk about mobile phones now. Research has shown that drivers are at a higher risk of being in a traffic collision within a few minutes of using a phone. This tells us something surprising: the studies suggest that it is the emotional impact of phone conversations (not just the physical act of using a phone) that causes an increased risk of car accidents.

Cellular Phones

Distracted driving happens when a driver divides his or her attention between driving tasks and a different object or task at the same time. Distractions can be psychological (taking your mind off the task of driving) or situational (ex: trying to dig your sunglasses out of your backpack with one hand). Distractions may only last for a split second and still affect your ability to react well to hazards. A serious accident could be the result.

Distractions

Hey, Claire. Congrats on starting drivers ed! I'm Ace, and it's my privilege to teach you the rules of the road. You know what else is a privilege? Driving a vehicle. You may be destined for automobile-operating greatness, but driving isn't your right. A right is given to you; a privilege must be earned. Every driver in the great state of California must have a driver license in order to drive any kind of vehicle on a public roadway or in a parking facility.

Driving is a Privilege

Over-the-counter medicines found at the pharmacy or at home can also be dangerous. I'm talking about decongestants, cough syrups, pain relievers, sleeping aids, etc. These drugs can affect your vision, judgment, and reaction time. Psychologically, they can cause anxiety, excitement, and confusion. Physiologically, results include drowsiness, tension, dizziness, and restlessness. Always read warning labels on over-the-counter medication before taking it and driving.

Household Medicines

It's not just alcohol that puts you and everyone else at risk on the roads. The use of other drugs can be just as serious and fatal. The following illegal drugs can negatively affect the vision, judgment, and reaction time you need in order to drive safely: - marijuana (weed/pot) -narcotics (heroin, prescription painkillers) -stimulants (meth, crank, crack, cocaine, speed) -hallucinogens (LSD, mushrooms, PCP, peyote, molly)

Illegal Drugs

The final undesirable trait for drivers is irresponsibility. Drivers must take responsibility for their actions, the actions of their passengers, and for the safe condition and operation of their vehicles

Irresponsibility

Sounds dramatic, but it's absolutely true: Your life (and the lives of your passengers) are in your hands while you are driving. Any irresponsible act, like drinking and driving, could have deadly results. I'm sure you've taken some risks and made some mistakes in the past. But driving opens up a whole new world of consequences that can't be reversed. Think before you act.

Life is in Your Hands

Wang's study involved asking students to match two images on a screen. First, they did this activity with zero distractions. Next, they did the same image-matching task while doing one of two things: Audibly giving directions to a decoy student through use of a headset Giving directions to a decoy student through use of instant messaging

Multitasking Study

A 2011 survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 49% of drivers answer phone calls while driving and 24% of drivers place phone calls while driving. There were almost 212 million licensed drivers in America in 2011, so that means about 102 million drivers were answering calls and 50 million drivers were making calls while driving. *shudders*

A Widespread Problem

Fortunately, organizations like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) have been working hard to decrease the number of teenagers affected by drunk driving. In the past 20 years, the number of teen drivers that drink and drive has decreased by half. This has been accomplished through drinking age limits and driver education programs such as yours truly.

Understanding the Impact on Teens

This is an example of an innocent (and fairly uncreative) text that you might receive at any given time. But it's enough of a distraction to take your eyes off the road and put you in danger. Distracted driving is a serious issue for teens especially. When you are behind the wheel, you have to devote your complete attention to the task of driving.

What's up?

Driving a vehicle while under the influence of any drug (legal or not) limits your ability to drive safely. If you're caught driving while using illegal drugs, you could be arrested by law enforcement. The crime? Driving Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance.

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Underage drinking is a national problem. During the year of 2011 in the United States, the 16-20 year-old group had the fifth highest rate (20%) of involvement in fatal crashes with BAC levels of .08% or higher. And I know fifth doesn't seem necessarily high, but when you consider the 16-to-20-year-old age group is not legally allowed to drink and that 846 teenagers died unnecessarily due to drunk driving... fifth seems way too high.

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If you believe you're being followed by someone, don't drive home. This lets them know where you live. Do this instead: Stay calm and in control of the situation Flash your lights and honk your horn so that others on the road notice you and the follower. Drive to a safe spot, like a police station, and do the ol' honk-and-flash again. Don't leave the safe location until you're sure your follower is gone.

Being Followed

- Fines and losing your driver license - Disappointing your parents and losing privileges - Setting a bad example for friends and siblings - Crashing your vehicle - Injuring or killing someone else - Injuring or killing yourself

Consequences If you choose to text while driving, there will be consequences (aside from making me kinda sad that you don't listen to ol' Ace):

A texting driver is more dangerous on the road than a drunk or high driver. Texters are 35% slower than a driver who is high on marijuana and 12% slower than a drunk driver. Texting drivers take their eyes off the road for 4.6-6 seconds at a time. That's like driving the length of a football field at 55 mph while blindfolded. Does that sound scary? Good, because it is.

Drugs vs. Texting

No amount of experience could make drinking and driving okay, though. Staying sober is always the safest choice. Drivers age 16-20 are 17 times more likely to die in a car crash when they are legally drunk than when they have not been drinking. You see, young people show the effects of alcohol impairment sooner (with the consumption of less alcohol) than older individuals. That's why it's critical for you to avoid drinking and driving.

Effects on Young Drivers

Road rage can be a truly scary phenomena. Let's move on to the next undesirable trait, egotism. It means the same thing as being self-centered. Self absorbed. Suffering a case of the me me me's. Egotistical people act like they own the road. They don't respect or care about the rights of other driver. As far as they're concerned, it's their world and you're just getting in the way. Charming, no

Egotism

Exhibition comes in many forms: - speeding - weaving through traffic - peeling out (starting too quickly after being stopped at a signal) - racing other drivers - playing "chicken" - ignoring signals and other traffic laws

Examples

There are a FEW exceptions to the rule. You can use a wireless communication device if you're making an emergency call to law enforcement, a health care provider, fire department, or other emergency services agency. Make sure you don't stretch the definition of "emergency" too far. A law enforcement officer can pull you over if he or she determines that you are using a phone or other inappropriate electronic device.

Exceptions

Distractions are a huge concern, but most evidence suggests that the main factor in young drivers' over-involvement in accidents is risk-taking. Drivers around your age tend to show off to their friends (and enemies...and anyone who will watch...). This kind of exhibition can lead to serious injuries and even death.

Exhibition

- Loud, rowdy passengers - Peer pressure to drive too fast or show off - Radio, CD player, phone, GPS - Animals in the car - Young children in the car - Grooming - Eating or drinking - Reading - Emotional instability - Thinking about things besides driving

Here are some distractions that can lead to car accidents:

If your blood alcohol content (BAC) is above the legal limit for your age group and the alcohol causes you to drive unsafely (chances are, it will), you can be arrested. You will be charged with the crime of Driving Under the Influence

Legal Trouble

How and where you park are important parts of safe driving. Picture your car rolling down a hill, destroying everything in its path and generally freaking out everyone. You don't want that. You also shouldn't park it in no-parking zones where it could get in the way of traffic or pedestrians going about their business. We'll go in depth about proper parking later in the course.

Park Responsibly

You humans are fascinating creatures. Most of you think you can text and still perform your driving tasks without a drop in performance. Y'all are crazy. You're also incorrect. Texting distracts drivers (and pedestrians and cyclists) by stealing their attention from the important task at hand. But you don't have to take this robot's word for it.

Performance Drop

Emotions don't stay in you brain--they move throughout your body. Intense emotions can cause an increased heart rate, faster breathing, slow digestion, sweaty palms, exhaustion, and other forms of physical stress. If your body is on high alert (whether it's because of negative or positive feelings), driving might not be a good idea. A person who is jumpy is likely to make impulsive decisions. Chill for a moment.

Physical Effects

Prescription medication can negatively affect your vision, judgment, and reaction time as well. Even if a doctor prescribes it to you, a drug is still a drug. It's not necessarily safe to drive while using the medication. If it causes you to drive in a way that threatens the safety of others (and yourself), you could be arrested for driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

Prescription Drugs

The good news is that distractions like texting and driving are 100% preventable. It's your choice to be responsible. I know that technology can be irresistible sometimes (I mean, look at me). So help you help yourself by keeping your phone on silent (or better yet, OFF) and out of reach while you're driving. That way, you won't be tempted to use it. Want to fight fire with fire? There are several apps available that can block cell phone usage while you're driving.

Prevention

A study by Communications Professor Zheng Wang of Ohio State University demonstrated that the idea that people can "successfully multitask" is false. Baloney. Hogwash. Not true.

Prof. Zheng Wang

Courtesy to others An understanding of traffic laws and rules Ability to use good judgment quickly Ability to recognize situations that could get dangerous Willingness to take responsibility for your actions

Requirements There are a few requirements for safe driving:

Some people are just risk-takers. If a teen gets involved in high-risk activities outside of driving (like using drugs and skipping school), they tend to make risky decisions behind the wheel, too. Whether they're driving or riding as a passenger, their tendency to take risks makes them more likely to suffer a car crash than other people.

Risk-Takers

Maybe you've gotten caught up in your own life and have been guilty of egotism. I wouldn't be that surprised, Claire. You're really cool. But it's important to remember that all drivers must share the road. It's worth it to drive courteously because others will be more willing to show you courtesy in return. Plus, it just feels good to be nice.

Share the Road

A space cushion sounds like a comfy spacecraft for chilling in another galaxy. It's not quite that cool, but it's still a really helpful concept to know. Try to keep a good amount of open space on all sides of your vehicle if you want to prevent crashes.

Space Cushion

- Delivery persons - Construction workers - Drivers talking to their passengers (especially kids) or on cell phones - Tourists at complicated intersections - Drivers who appear to be slowing down for no reason - Drivers looking for house numbers or other addresses - Pedestrians and drivers who might be intoxicated - Drivers looking at maps or GPS systems

Space cushions are crucial when you're traveling near distracted people. Here are some examples of folks who are more likely than others to be distracted behind the wheel:

Synergistic effects take place when two drugs (over-the-counter or not) are combined, such as marijuana and alcohol. Doing so makes the results unpredictable and extremely dangerous. Your vision, judgment, and reaction time will be harmed. Driving after mixing two drugs is more dangerous than driving under the influence of one drug. Never mix drugs unless your doctor or pharmacist tells you it's okay. If you were to mix alcohol with medicine, the result could be headaches, vomiting, drowsiness, fainting, or a loss in coordination (or even consciousness).

Synergistic Effects

- Lack of maturity (no offense) - Limited driving experience (day and night driving) - More likely to take risks - Distracted by passengers, eating and drinking, and using phones while driving

Teens at Risk Remember those statistics about teens being more likely than older drivers to be involved in crashes? Here are some reasons why:

I want to tell you more about texting in particular. Text messaging is distracting in three different ways. Reading takes your eyes off the road, pressing buttons keeps one hand off the wheel, and thinking about a message and how to respond is a cognitive distraction. You already know that driving after using alcohol or drugs is really dangerous. Do you take texting and driving as seriously?

Texting: The Triple Threat

Here's the scary part: Although the students' performance on the image-matching task dropped by 50 percent, the texting participants believed they had performed well on the task. Unfortunately, many drivers believe they can text and still drive safely. The human brain is not capable of multitasking without a drop in performance. If you are texting, your performance as a driver is going to suffer, and that's not a risk worth taking.

The Disillusion

Spoiler alert: There are a lot of laws. Drivers have to understand and obey all traffic laws, all of the time. Some will sound minor and unnecessary to you, but you still need to follow the rules. It's important to drive lawfully if you want to avoid tickets and preventable crashes.

The Law

Using your phone while driving isn't just stupid. It's illegal. As of January 2013, no one of ANY age can use an electronic wireless communications device at all while driving, unless it's mounted on the windshield, dashboard or center console. That means hands off your phone unless it's just to turn it on or off. That also goes for your tablet, laptop, or GPS. You can't even use your ironic vintage pager. This rule applies even if your parents or someone at least 25 years old is riding with you in the passenger's seat.

The Law

Dr. Wang compared the students' results on the undistracted image-matching task to their results on the same task while giving directions. The performance of the students who gave audible directions dropped 30%. This implies that talking on a headset while driving is dangerously distracting. The performance of the students who gave directions over instant messaging dropped 50%. Texting severely limits your ability to simultaneously perform normally simple tasks.

The Results

In 2011, nearly one in five crashes involved a distracted driver. That's 1.3 million car crashes involving a distracted driver. As a result, 387,000 Americans were injured and 3,331 were killed. Mobile phones are a major culprit.

The Results of Distracted Driving

There are several kinds of emotions that have the potential to impact your driving. You could be angry, stressed, nervous, sad, or even happy. It's the intensity of the emotion that can cause problems. If you're angry about something, you could take it out on others by driving aggressively. If you're super happy and excited, you might feel untouchable and not react properly to risks.

Types of Emotions

Peer pressure can change the way you drive, perhaps without you realizing it. A friend might suggest you do something dangerous or illegal for "fun." Another jerk might make fun of you for driving the speed limit or refusing to drink alcohol. Our peers can change the way we think, feel, and drive. But stay strong, Claire. Protecting your life, your vehicle, and your driving privileges (in that order) is way more important than giving in to an immature friend. Drive like an adult or stay off the road.

Under Pressure

Other people are depending on you to drive safely. That means following the rules, being considerate, and making the choice to never drive while impaired. Being a safe and skilled driver is so important because it doesn't just affect you. Pedestrians, your passengers, and other drivers are at your mercy on the road. Treat them the way you would want to be treated.

What It Means to Others

Yielding is another example of an everyday driving law that you shouldn't ignore. Yielding is a special kind of stopping. It's when you let a driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist use a certain part of the roadway before you proceed. Failing to yield the right of way to other drivers is among the top five causes of accidents in this country. We're talking thousands of car crashes that could have been avoided through the magic of yielding.

Yielding

Your medication is your responsibility. Make sure you're aware of all the possible side effects and other information on the warning labels. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if a medication is safe to take before driving a vehicle.

Your Responsibility