Here Are Four Ways to Help Teens Stop Texting, Driving Right Now

The following is a news release from Amica Insurance:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), teen drivers are twice as likely get into car accidents as adults. However, when you add texting into the mix, teens are 23 times more likely to crash than non-texting drivers.

The NHTSA also reports that the average time eyes are off the road when sending a text while driving is five seconds. That’s why, as part of National Teen “Don’t Text and Drive” Week, Amica Insurance is sharing the following safety tips:

1. Encourage teens to turn cellphone notifications off. If they can’t see or hear their phone go off, they will be less tempted to pick it up.
2. Start a new rule: While driving, cellphones go in the backseat or another spot where they cannot be reached.
3. Lend the phone to a passenger in the car and have them do the texting if an immediate response is necessary.
4. Download an app that will temporarily disable the phone while driving. They can use it again upon arriving at their destination. ( Here is a list of some to consider.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK? WILL THIS ADVICE HELP YOUR TEEN? Tell us in the comments. Wondering how our new commenting platform, Disqus, works? Learn more about it here and start interacting with your neighbors on Patch.

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