By now, it is impossible to get behind the wheel of a car and not be aware of the dangers of cell phone use. And it’s not just texting, it’s eating, putting on make-up, or just thinking about something other than driving. The risks of distracted driving are real and well-known. Still, every day, countless drivers, particularly teenagers and young adults, continue to put their lives – and the lives of others – at risk because their hands aren’t always on the wheel or their minds aren’t on the road.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 1,000 people died in cell phone-related crashes in the United States in 2009 alone. That should be enough of a deterrent, but it is not. A recent AAA/Seventeen magazine study found that 86 percent of teens ages 16-19 still engage in distracted driving behavior despite being aware of the dangers.
Connecticut and other states have imposed texting bans, but many safety advocates and industry experts argue that tickets and fines alone will not make the problem go away. “Tough laws are important, but they are not enough to create change,” said John Donohue, chairman, president and CEO of the Arbella Insurance Group. “Inexperienced drivers need further education and ongoing reinforcement about how to stay safe on the road. That’s our goal. Education is the key and Distractology 101 can help.”
“Distractology 101” is a program sponsored by the Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation in partnership with researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. It features a 36-foot-long neon-yellow mobile classroom, outfitted with state-of-the-art high-tech driving simulators that give new drivers (usually teens) a real-life look at the potentially disastrous effects of distracted driving. The driving simulator tour has been travelling to select communities throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island since early 2010, but with the help of Bearingstar Insurance, arrived in Connecticut for the first time this year. “We are living in a world where people think it’s acceptable to drive around with cell phones in their ears and texts flying,” said Rich Toce, customer service manager for Bearingstar Insurance, which sponsored tour visits to Fairfield and Farmington this past spring.
As part of the Distractology 101 training, teens and other new drivers get behind the wheel of the driving simulator to see firsthand how distraction can make the difference between being safe and being a statistic. The students face a number of scenarios based on real-world examples that illustrate the dangers of distracted driving and teach participants how to anticipate hidden hazards, react to the road and avoid accidents. The program even has its own vocabulary, with buzzwords like “textident” (an accident caused by texting), “snackcident” (juggling drinks and food while driving) and “gabcident”(driving while talking on the phone).
During the simulation, which looks similar to an arcade game, Distractology 101 instructor Topher Paone interacts with drivers, texting them questions such as, “what’s your favorite sports team?” In turn, students are asked to text back a response. “Kids are surprised. They think they can do it, but they always crash. And if they manage not to crash, they’re doing something else illegal, like driving over the sidewalk, or swerving all over the road.” Paone said.
The Distractology 101 program is free and the driving simulator training takes a total of about 45 minutes. As an incentive, students who complete the course are rewarded a $15 Mobile/Exxon gas card, courtesy of Arbella. But the training doesn’t end there. The students are then asked to complete the online portion of the curriculum. At www.DistractU.com, they take another training lesson for reinforcement of what they learned in the classroom. Finally, they are asked to make a safe driving pledge. Parents are also encouraged to participate in the online training. Most importantly, the program stresses the importance of parents being positive role models for their children by putting their own cell phones down while they are driving.
“We can talk all we want about the different risks and distractions, but when teens come in and experience these real-life scenarios the message suddenly hits home,” said Toce. “They see how easy it is to crash and what an impact two seconds can have. It definitely changes the way they think about driving and legitimizes the importance of focusing 100 percent of your attention on the road.”
In Connecticut, Bearingstar Insurance representatives say the response to Distractology 101 was overwhelming and they are already working with Arbella to bring the mobile classroom back to the state again next year.
To find out when the trailer is coming to a community near you, log on to www.DistractU.com/Students/Tour