One Second program educates teens on distracted driving
A lot can happen in the time it takes to read this sentence. That short span of time is also the basis for One Second, a new program aimed at preventing distracted driving among teenagers.
Launching this month, the program offered through Blank Children's Hospital – Center for Advocacy and Outreach focuses on the power of decisions when teens are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
The leading cause of death for ages 14 to 20 is car crashes and many of those deaths result from a lack of seat belt use, distracting driving or inexperience. One Second plans to use interactions, videos and personal account stories to focus on those issues and encourage safer choices, said Jessica LaCroix, program coordinator.
"We wanted to educate about the power of choice and how those choices really are made in a small amount of time," she said.
Regardless of whether the choices are good or bad, the consequences come fast when in a vehicle. It takes one second to buckle up, and one second to neglect a seat belt. The result is a higher risk of injury for those who don't chose the seat belt, LaCroix said.
The same goes for text messaging.
"The average person taking the time to look at their phone takes their eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds, which is the equivalent of travelling a football field length at 55 miles per hour. That would be like driving a football field length with your eyes closed," she said.
Another example is driving past another motorist who is texting. Drivers may pass that car and the person texting wouldn't have even noticed, she said.
One Second addresses distracted driving as well as impaired and buzzed driving, seat belt use and graduated driver's licenses – all the steps to becoming a more experienced driver. A pocket guide outlining the Iowa's graduated driver's license is also part of the program to help set expectations for parents and teens.
The program will be implemented through a website, a video challenge as well as a free, one-hour school presentation.
A teen focus group helped form the basis for the program and Valley High School media students won a pilot video challenge last spring. UnityPoint Health Trauma Services also assisted with the challenge.
Students were asked to create a video that would change their mind about distracted driving. The thinking was that peers would inspire teens more than an adult or authority figure might.
Students submitted their own videos to their school champion and leaders at Blank Children's Hospital voted on the top 3. The hospital was able to reshoot the video created by the winner and the spot ran locally in July.
Valley photography and video instructor Tory DeVries required students in her video production class to create public service announcements on distracted driving. About one-third of the teens submitted videos to the contest through Blank. One student created a spot on the dangers of eating and driving based on her own experience, and others highlighted fatigue and texting.
While it's hard to gauge an immediate impact on teens, Devries said the experience was a way to get a message across to peers without scolding them.
"As they are driving around and making decisions, I hope it reminds them a little bit," she said.
For her students, the lesson was two-fold: getting them thinking about distracted driving, while using skills to produce a real video. One of the most valuable experiences for the winners was seeing what occurred behind the scenes producing it and even starring in the commercial.
The winning video from Valley showed two teens getting in a car, with the passenger neglecting to put on a seat belt before selecting music on his smartphone. The passenger then asks the driver to choose a song while she is driving, causing her to miss an approaching stop sign. Screeching tires are followed by sirens and an image of the blood-spattered pavement, with a lifeless hand and discarded cell phone nearby.
The final message: "Over 4,000 teens lose their lives due to distracted driving every year. Don't be another statistic. Put the phone down."
As the program rolls out this year, students will be invited to participate in the video challenge in the fall and spring. One grand prize winner will be selected each semester, with prizes and incentives provided by sponsors AAA and the Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau.
The program is starting out in the metro area, but the idea is to expand statewide using hospital affiliate locations and trauma coordinators, LaCroix said.
One Second Program: www.onesecondiowa.org
AAA Keys 2 Drive: www.teendriving.aaa.com/ia
Iowa Department of Transportation: www.iowadot.gov
Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau: www.dps.state.ia.us/commis/gtsb
Distracted driving facts:
- Nearly 1 in 4 crashes involves a distracted driver. (National Safety Council)
- At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. (National Occupant Protection Use Survey)
- One study found that the odds of a crash or near-crash in newly licensed teen drivers was more than 8 times greater when dialing a cell phone. (Safe Kids)
- Five seconds is the average time your eyes are off the road while texting. When traveling at 55mph, that's enough time to cover the length of a football field blindfolded. (2009, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute)
- Iowa's cell phone/texting ban prohibits those with an intermediate license, school permit or learner's permit from the use of an electronic or entertainment device while driving, unless the vehicle is at a complete stop off the traveled portion of the roadway. (Iowa DOT)
Source: One Second