Teen Drivers On Phones Tied To More U.S. Crashes Than Estimated

Teenagers, the most crash-prone drivers on U.S. roads, may be even more dangerous than thought. A review of in-car video and audio recordings of teen drivers moments before they crashed found some kind of distraction -- such as grooming, mobile-phone use or even dancing -- was a factor in four times as many accidents than previously estimated, AAA said.

The distractions contributed largely to the drivers’ inattention to their surroundings and their failure to obey traffic signs and speed limits just before the crashes. The data is being used by the AAA to push more states to adopt graduated license laws, which limit the circumstances in which an adolescent motorist can drive and incrementally lift those restrictions as the person ages and gains more experience on the road.

The AAA analysis of 1,691 real-time crash videos of teen drivers showed distractions, including talking, mobile-phone use, singing and dancing, and looking at something other than the road, was a factor in 58 percent of all the crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had estimated distraction to be present in 14 percent of teen crashes. In the AAA study, 89 percent of crashes where the car drove off the road involved some kind of distraction, as did 76 percent of rear-end crashes. None of the crashes reviewed for the study involved fatalities.

Attending to passengers and mobile-phone use were the two most prevalent behaviors recorded in the moments before the crashes, according to the study.

Teens manipulating their phones took their eyes off the road for an average of 4.1 seconds out of the final 6 seconds before a crash.

Thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C., ban all mobile-phone use for novice drivers, and 45 states ban texting for all drivers. Based on numerous crash investigations, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board recommended in 2011 laws preventing all drivers from sending text messages or using phones -- even with hands-free devices.

The safety board specifically cited an August 2010 crash in which a 19-year-old GMC pickup driver sent or received 11 text messages in 13 minutes before hitting the back of a tractor-trailer. Two school buses then collided with the stopped trucks, killing two and injuring 38. The U.S. Transportation Department estimated that 3,328 people were killed in distracted-driving crashes in 2012, and 387,000 were injured.

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