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Avoid Distractions

Since teens have less experience driving, distractions are one of your greatest risks. While cell phones are the biggest distraction, music, other passengers, emotions and aggressive driving can also hinder your ability to drive safely.
Before you get behind the wheel, know the facts.

Cell Phone Use

• Users are four to five times more likely to have a crash, whether or not it's a hands-free device
• Users' brain activity associated with driving is reduced 37 percent
•  July 1, 2010 Iowa issued a new cell phone law making it illegal for drivers under 18 to use a cell phone

Texting

• The most alarming distraction because it involves all three types of distraction - visual, manual and cognitive
• Texting takes your eyes off the road an average of five seconds at a time. At 55 mph, that is like driving the length of a football field, completely blind
• Texting while driving is like driving after having four beers
• Texting makes drivers 23 times more likely to crash
• Texting results in car crashes that kill an average of 11 teens each day
• Texting results in 330,000 distracted driving injuries every year

Music

•  People spend an average of 25 seconds with their eyes off-the-road to select a song with a handheld MP3 player

Passengers

• 59 percent of teenage passenger deaths occur in vehicles driven by another teenager
• Fatal crashes involving young drivers are much more likely to occur when other teenagers are in the car
• The risk of a fatal crash increases in proportion to the number of teenage passengers
• Nearly half of all teen crashes involved vehicles with one or more teen passengers

Negative Emotions

Negative emotions can cause you to:  

• Experience impaired observation and reaction times
• Fail to recognize situations, such as an abrupt slowing of traffic or debris in the road
• Lose the ability to predict or determine what the other drivers around you are doing
• Make risky maneuvers and risky changes
• Lose the ability to perform driving skills that require precise timing or other subtle skills
•  Feel detached from other drivers, vehicles and conditions on the road

Aggressive Driving 

Aggressive driving habits include: 

•  Tailgating
• Using the horn
• Flashing your headlights
• Changing lanes quickly and often
• Gesturing to other drivers
• Talking on your cell phone

Although you can't control what other drivers do on the road, it's important to try to avoid other aggressive drivers.  

• When confronted with an angry driver react in a calm manner
• Save your frustrations about the other driver and talk about it with a friend or family member later to relieve your anger 

Keep all Distractions to a Minimum

Making phone calls and sending text messages can wait

• Find a radio station or iPod playlist and stick to it
• Get used to driving before inviting passengers
• If you are upset about something - take a breath and calm down before getting behind the wheel
• Stay calm when other drivers are being aggressive 

By keeping your distractions to a minimum, you will become a safer, smarter driver.