Distracted Driving Among Teens A Huge Issue As UDrive. UText. UPay Campaign Begins In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Distracted driving among teenagers is even more prevalent than previously feared, Ocean City Police said on Wednesday in announcing their participation in this year’s UDrive. UText. UPay. campaign.

Ocean City Police will increase their focus on distracted driving as part of the statewide enforcement campaign from April 1-21, Chief Chad Callahan said.

Researchers recently analyzed 1,700 videos of accidents involving teen drivers, focusing on the last six seconds before a moderate or severe crash. They found that 58 percent of those drivers were distracted in some way, including 89 percent of accidents in which a car left the road and 76 percent of rear-end crashes.

The 58 percent number is more than four times higher than the 14 percent estimate previously provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Their estimate was based on police reports.

• Interacting with other passengers (15 percent of crashes);
• Cell phone use (12 percent);
• Looking at something inside the car (10 percent);
• Looking at something outside the car (9 percent);
• Singing or moving to music (8 percent);
• Grooming (6 percent); and
• Reaching for an object (6 percent).

Additionally, drivers using cell phones didn’t have their eyes on the road an average of 4.1 of the final six seconds before an accident. Teens using cell phones failed to react at all more than half the time, meaning they didn’t try to brake or steer out of the way.

About 963,000 drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 were involved in police-reported crashes in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available. There were 383,000 injuries and 2,865 deaths as a result of these accidents.

A total of 33 states prevent cell phone use for teens, and 18 states have passenger restrictions for teens that fall in line with AAA’s recommendations.

In New Jersey, new drivers are allowed just one passenger, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian, and are not allowed to use cell phones, handheld wireless games or any hands-free, interactive wireless device.

The full report and video on teen driving can be found at www.aaafoundation.org.

“Distracted driving is a serious issue on our roadways,” Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety Gary Poedubicky said. "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that in 2014 alone, 3,179 people were killed in distracted driving crashes and an estimated 431,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.”

Despite the fact that using a hand held cell phone or texting while driving is illegal in New Jersey, the practice appears to be widespread. In a recent survey conducted by the FDU Public Mind Poll for the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, 67% of respondents said they “very often” see people driving and talking on a hand held cell phone, and 42% of respondents said they “very often” see driver’s texting.

The campaign is being carried out during the month of April, which the National Safety Council has designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The New Jersey campaign is modeled after similar successful high visibility enforcement programs such as Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.