The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
National program hopes to make local Impact
The question “what do you consider lethal?” is one posed to many teenagers who take part in the Impact Teen driver program.
Car crashes was not one of the answers given.
Traffic crashes, however, are the number one killers of teens in America.
According to statistics presented in an informational statement on the Impact program, teens have four times higher fatal crash rates than adults.
Everyday reckless and distracted driving behavior such as cell phone use, checking social media, eating, applying
makeup, going through a music play list and engaging with passengers are the causes of 75 percent of fatal teen crashes.
According to Impact’s Distracted Reckless and Distracted Driving Resource Guide, almost 4,000 teenagers are killed in crashes every year while 400,000 are seriously injured, and 50 percent of those are passengers.
“Having passengers is a serious distraction for teen drivers,” according to the resource guide. “Carrying three or more passengers may increase the risk of a crash for 16and 17-year-olds by fourfold over the rate crashes when driving alone.”
The Impact Teen Drivers program is an educational tool used by schools all over the country, including schools in Lorain and Cuyahoga counties such as Euclid High School, and is designed to teach young drivers the importance of driving safely and without distractions.
The program was originally designed by the California Association of Highway Patrolman due to the high rate of crashes they responded to involving teen drivers and the devastating impact it left on responding officers, the communities and families, according to Kelly Browning, executive director of Impact in a statement about the program.
“Impact Teen Drivers educates students about the dangers of reckless and distracted driving and the simple choices teens can make to stay safe on the roads as drivers or passengers,” said Heidi Deane, Ohio education and outreach coordinator for Impact.
Impact Teen Drivers is dedicated to reversing what they describes as a pervasive yet 100 percent preventable crisis, according to their resource guide.
“Impact’s mission is to change the culture of driving forever thereby saving lives not only in this generation of drivers but also in all future generations of drivers,” according to Impact’s resource guide.
Impact works with school administrators to develop a program to help educate the young drivers on the consequences of distracted driving, and encourage schools to create polices that support safe teen driving.
One of the things Impact recommends schools to do is to make sure all administration, coaches, club advisors, PTA and students are familiar with and ready to enforce the Graduated Driver Licensing laws. GDL is a threestep approach for those under the age of 18 to take to obtain a drivers license. Other suggestions offered include color-coded parking passes to allow staff to identify provisional drivers, including passenger limits, making sure all school activities end before the midnight driving curfew for newly licensed
drivers, notify students and parents that the school will enforce all GDL laws and encourages the schools to do spot checks during school for mobile devices and make sure all students are wearing seatbelts.
The non-profit Impact programs offer a variety of services such as school presentations, parentteen workshops, peer-topeer messaging programs and train-the-trainers courses. In addition they also offer affected family member training and a “create real impact contest” for student ages 1422 to showcase artwork that addresses distracted driving.
Between 2014 and 2017 distracted driving crashes involving 15- to 19-yearolds attributed to a statewide combined total of 5,866 fatalities, injuries or property damage, with 413 in Cuyahoga County, 65 in Geauga County, 101 in Lake County and 140 in Lorain County, according
to OHP statistics.
Jennifer Walker of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital Injury Prevention Center along with Deane are the presenters available for schools presentations in all Northeast Ohio schools.
For additional information on Impact or to schedule a presentation contact info@impactteendrivers.org or call 916733-7432.
“A teen’s crash risk quadruples with three passengers, night time crash rates begin increasing as early at 9 p.m. We know that Ohio has been ranked 49th for Graduated Drivers Licensing laws,” said Deane. “Impact Teen Drivers will educate teens and parents about Ohio’s law, but we also share what is safest. Which is well rested buckled up, focused, and alone or with a parent or guardian. Teen drivers need a lot of practice under the best conditions.”