Tuesday, March 28, 2000
When distractions are deadly
Teen crashes rise with riders present
BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Julie Dunn keeps a single dried gladiola blossom in her West Chester classroom.
Driving instructor Julie Dunn says she emphasiizes the dangers of distractions from passengers.
(Dick Swaim photo)
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It fell from the casket of one of her former students, Jordan Walker, 16, who was killed last year along with passenger Troy Mullikin, 15, when Jordan lost control of his red Mustang on McClure Road in Mason. Another passenger, 17-year-old Kris Cathcart, was injured in the crash.
An instructor for Top Driver-Bick's, a driving school with outlets throughout Greater Cincinnati, Mrs. Dunn uses the flower as a symbol of the permanent consequences of unsafe driving.
“I try to emphasize (to teens) the danger of distraction while driving,” she said. “I tell them that when they are behind the wheel, "You are the designated boring person.'”
She isn't surprised by the findings of a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that confirms what many parents and many driving instructors have long suspected: The chances of a serious car crash increase exponentially when other young people ride in an automobile driven by a teen.
Using federal data from 1992 through 1997, researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore found that 16-year-olds carrying one passenger were 39 percent more likely to get killed than those driving alone.
That increased to 86 percent with two passengers and 182 percent with three or more. The rate for 17- year-olds was even higher: 48 percent, 158 percent and 207 percent, respectively, the study determined.
Rates were as much as 21 times higher during early morning hours when passengers were present.
According to 1998 figures, Ohio statisticians determined that drivers between ages 16 and 20 had a 1 in 5.8 chance of being involved in a car accident.
“These are mind-boggling statistics,” said Mitch Wilson, a spokesman for the Ohio Insurance Institute, a trade association for insurance companies, based in Columbus.
Break the numbers down by gender and they don't look any better.
Males in this age group have a 1 in 5.1 chance, while females have a 1 in 6.7 chance, Mr. Wilson said.
Researchers link the increase to “general foolishness and distractions” among drivers who are just getting to know the rules of the road, said Robert Foss of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. “Many people think alcohol is the problem. But for that age group, it's really not.”
Teens make up 8 percent of Ohio's drivers but are involved in 16 percent of fatal accidents. In 1997, 290 Ohio teen-agers were killed in crashes.
Law enforcement officials such as Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. John Born hope the newly instituted graduated licensing system will help curb serious accidents among teen drivers.
In addition to more practice time and more education, the new law stipulates the time teens can drive. And requires seat belts be available and used by every passenger. If there are five seat belts, only five passengers should be in the vehicle, officials said.
“The number of people killed in traffic crashes annually doubles the number of people killed as a result of homicide,” Lt. Born said.
Mrs. Dunn teaches her teen pupils more than the rules of the road.
She incorporates lessons on character in her regular predriving courses that are normally taught to teen-agers who have had their licenses revoked for speeding, drunk-driving or other infractions.
“I talk about trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. And, I ask them how they can use all these principles while on the road,” she said.
Ultimately, Mrs. Dunn said, it's up to parents to ensure that a young driver is responsible. She said she hopes the findings will spur more parents to take an active role in their teen-agers' driving experiences.
“A lot of them are so eager to get their teens driving because it means they won't have to shuttle them around anymore,” she said. “But maybe parents need to start setting guidelines.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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