DriveSmartBC

Volume 45, Number 3 of the IIHS Status Report looks at two subjects in this issue, motorcycles and graduated licensing of new drivers. For motorcyclists, the wearing of helmets, the use of anti-lock brakes and the fact that mandatory training for new drivers does not seem to reduce crash rates form the bulk of the content.

This video, produced by ICBC, looks at why banning communication device use by drivers keeps our roads safer by keeping drivers focused on the task of driving. This applies to new drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program especially as they have not developed the necessary skills to spare attention for non-driving related tasks.

Every day just over 1000 people aged 25 or younger are killed in traffic collisions around the world. In fact, it is the leading cause of death for people in the age group containing 15 to 19 year olds, while it is the second most common cause of death in two other groups, those aged 10 - 14 and 20 - 24.

The Youth Task Force is comprised of young road safety leaders from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, The Gambia, Lebanon and the United States. Most were nominated as their country's official delegate to the April 2007 World Youth Assembly for Road Safety.

Can someone with their N have more than one friend in the car if they are the designated driver?

This past year my 18yr old son was stopped and ticketed for having an extra passenger in his vehicle. It was late in the evening and they had been at a party. He was designated driver that evening and had not been drinking or doing drugs. However, the constable that stopped him pointed her flashlight in his eyes and accused him of being on drugs.

The Traffic Injury Research Foundation has released a report titled "An evaluation of graduated driver licensing programs in North America." The report concludes that graduated licensing reduces a 16 year old's chance of a fatal collision by 19%, chiefly by reducing the number of people in the vehicle driven by the teen. Negligible effects were seen for drivers in the 17 to 19 year old age groups.

Putting a monitoring device in your teenager’s car is like someone almost virtually riding with them as a new driver, one dad says. It opens up much more dialogue about encouraging safe driving when they’re out on their own. They know someone’s watching.

This is a road safety campaign video from the UK, just in time for Valentine's day, aimed at teen drivers. One of the slogans used is 'More girls die as passengers than as drivers.' This is a significant idea for the female half of the equation to consider. They do need to play an active role in keeping the male focused on safe driving when necessary, obviously for their own good.

It was not uncommon to be told that a new driver sign was not being displayed because adults took the sign as a signal to bully the new driver. I thought that was just a convenient excuse to give the policeman when you couldn't be bothered to make sure that the required sign was in place.