Young Drivers and Safety On The Road

Drivers have always had things distracting them from driving safely all of the time. Now-a-days with the addition of in-car DVD-players, cell phones and MP3 players, drivers have even more things to draw their attention away from the road. Those who have been driving for a long time have learned to ignore these distractions while we are driving and focus on the road, but new drivers have a very hard time doing this.

Young drivers between the ages of 17-24 years old are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents than any other drivers on the road. Every new driver must go through training and certification before being issued a driver’s license, as we all know; and although the education and real-world training help prepare young drivers, once they are out on their own and being distracted by their car full of friends and electronic devices, problems very often occur.

Intensive research has gone into trying to keep new drivers focused on driving and nothing else; from changing the laws on age, how many people can be in the car with a new driver and the addition of the cell phone regulations. The next step may be to include GPS devices to allow parents to more closely monitor their young driver on the road.

Integrating vehicles with things like GPS-enabled cameras can transmit the speed and location of a car and the young driver to allow parents to monitor what their child is doing. People can also use these “car black boxes” to monitor and analyze their own driving habits to help eliminate their own road mistakes. Plus, in the event of an accident the information gathered by the system can resolve any issue fairly and impartially.

Integrating our roadways with intelligent vehicles and intelligent roads will make everyone’s commute easier, safer and better.

~TeCHS