Photo by Jennie Miller Distracted driving is a major concern for public safety these days, with things like cell phones, music, food and passengers all common causes of taking a driver’s focus off the road. The state of Michigan recently implemented a texting-while-driving ban and cities like Troy have cracked down on distracted driving, with the passage of an ordinance that prohibits phone usage, eating, writing, reading, grooming — anything that prevents a driver from keeping one hand on the wheel.

Distracted driving a concern on the road, especially for teenagers

By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

The teenage driver. Newly minted, they take what they’ve learned in driver’s education courses, along with the warnings their parents have issued, and head out on the road, fingers crossed.

Behind the wheel, they’ve got a lot of potential distractions: cell phones, iPods, snacks, their friends piled in the backseat. It’s tough to maintain focus on the task at hand.

“The No. 1 thing we try to do with our students is create an awareness that we call driver intelligence — a complete understanding of everything around you,” said Rich Radi, CEO of Top Driver, which offers driver’s training courses in Farmington and West Bloomfield. “There (are) a lot of distractions: eating, texting, radios, HVAC (controls), passengers. We try to really maintain their focus on the road ahead, and on potential hazards that are out there and what happens when you do encounter a hazard and how to handle it. … You can really get yourself into a really dangerous situation if you’re not anticipating. That’s the thing about distracted driving; it takes you away from the recognition of the hazards that are out there, and that’s one of the things we try to instill in our students.”

With the recent passage and implementation of the texting-while-driving ban in Michigan, police officers across the state are ready to crack down on what is considered an extremely dangerous distraction behind the wheel for teenagers and adults alike.

“Teens are less experienced drivers, so they should not be texting, (and) adults are not as good at multitasking as they get older, so they should not be texting while driving either,” said Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel. “I drive around and I see a lot of adults texting while driving. I’ve seen some stuff I can’t even mention. I’ve seen people … changing clothes in the car. I’ve seen people reading while they’re in the car — books, magazines, papers. You’ll see people who are paying attention to something on the seat next to them, like food, or reaching in the back seat of the car. Makeup, shaving with the electric shavers — any type of distraction takes your focus off of driving, which is a very serious thing for all of us. At a moment’s notice anything can happen … (and) the next thing you know, (there’s) the curve, the turn, the stoplight, and you’re in a situation where you’re causing an accident. Your focus needs to be on driving when you’re driving.”

For teenagers, who are raw behind the wheel and putting into practice what they’ve just learned in class, it’s essential to keep the distractions at bay.

“It’s particularly important when you have a new driver,” Radi said. “Whether it’s driving or learning to play the guitar, whenever anybody does something new, when you first start out, you’re not nearly as competent as you are down the road.”

In Michigan, teenagers can enroll in driver’s education courses at the age of 15. According to Radi, they go through two components of training, the first of which includes 24 hours of classroom learning, six hours of driving and four hours of observing other students driving. The second segment is six hours of classroom work. Once they pass the statewide exam at the age of 16, a license is issued and they can head out on the road.

“The statistics indicate that the No. 1 cause of death for teenagers is car crashes,” said trooper Walter Crider of the Michigan State Police, adding that a high percentage of the causes of those accidents is distracted driving, including cell phone usage.

“Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity up to 37 percent,” he said.

“With teenagers, I tend to believe that they’re new on the road, so there’s a learning curve in terms of learning how to do everything you need to do to pay attention to things going on on the road,” Crider explained. “It’s plain-old inexperience. Oftentimes, when we’re young, we don’t have a reference point for traffic crashes and that type of thing; it’s that age-old ‘It’ll never happen to me.’ It’s simply because of inexperience.”

Parents play a huge role in how successful a driver their child can be.

“No. 1 is be involved in the process, understanding what is going on, what the school is teaching my child,” Radi said. “Point 2 is set a great example in your own driving habits, whether it’s cell phone use, speeding, obeying traffic laws. All of those things are important, especially (because) kids are watching mom and dad very carefully.”

“Set some standards at home,” Crider suggests, “(such as) you can only have two other people in the car. Reduce the number of occupants in a young person’s car, because that contributes to the distractions, as well. You’re busy talking to those in the back, you’re fooling with the radio — we seem to become bolder when we’re with our friends. There’s strength in numbers, or whatever. Because in a modern-day SUV, that’s six occupants, easy.”

Top Driver offers assistance to parents to come up with rules and restrictions for their teenaged drivers.

“We encourage all of our parents to come in for orientation and actually put together a contract with their teen that says, ‘Let’s agree on what you’re going to do when you get your license. If you violate this contract, here are the consequences,’” Radi said.