Study: Distracted driving among teenagers at all-time high
Nearly every teenage driver has a connection to friends, funny videos and Facebook at the tip of their fingers regardless of what they are doing.
That connection can have deadly stakes behind the wheel. A study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows driving distractions are at an all-time high.
“Car crashes, with teenagers, are the No. 1 killer here,” said AAA Public Affairs Director Chelsea Pompeani.
In 2013, the last year data was available, a state Department of Transportation report compiled at the request of the Observer-Reporter showed 243 accidents were caused by distracted driving in Washington County and 26 were reported in Greene County. In Washington County, one of those accidents was fatal and six resulted in major injuries. In Greene County, one accident resulted in major injury.
The age of the drivers was not specified on the report. Distracted driving includes cellphone use, changing a radio station or using dashboard controls.
But one of the most common distractions, texting, is a traffic violation that is notoriously difficult to enforce.
State Trooper Matthew Jardine, Troop B spokesman, said proving someone was texting would require a trooper to get a search warrant to obtain cellphone records.
“It really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to write a search warrant when I could just wait for them to cross over the line or forget to use a turn signal and cite them for some other traffic violation,” he said.
When he suspects someone is texting, the person will almost inevitably swerve out of their lane or fail to follow another traffic law, he said.
“When people are using an electronic device, that distracts them,” he said.
Because of the difficulty in proving the violation, Jardine has never given a citation for texting while driving.
“It’s not cost-effective for us to spend three hours to get a search warrant for something that could generate $115 of revenue,” he said.
The law went into effect March 8, 2012. He said he does not know of any changes coming to the law that would make it easier to prove a driver was texting.
Based on the distracted driving study, AAA suggested new laws for teen driving including cellphone restrictions, passenger limits and nighttime driving bans. Some of these are already enforced in Pennsylvania for drivers under 18.
Dashboard camera videos used in the AAA study found distraction was a factor in six out of 10 moderate to severe teen crashes, four times more than official estimates based on police reports.
“This study proves that distracted driving is a more serious problem than previously known, and strengthening our state laws will provide more protection for teen drivers,” said AAA Director of Legislative Affairs and Safety Theresa Podguski in a written statement.
A Washington High School student, Justin Blussick, won first place and $500 at a safe driving competition hosted by AAA, Southwest Regional Traffic Safety and the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, according to Pompeani. Trinity High School students Natalie Cappelli and Robert West won second and third places, respectively, and a $250 and $150 cash prize. Blussick and Cappelli qualified for the state competition, where drivers compete for a $5,000 scholarship.
Drivers at the competition were students from across Washington, Greene, Fayette and Westmoreland counties.
To view the full reports on distracted driving crashes from PennDOT, visit www.observer-reporter.com.