CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 4 CHRIS HAYNES
Ground Division
Directorate of Assessments and Prevention
U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center
Fort Rucker, Alabama

Recently, I picked up my daughter from high school to drive her to an orthodontist appointment. She received her driving learner’s permit a few months earlier and would soon get her full license. Until then, though, mom and dad were still the taxi service. After her appointment, we returned to campus just as the school day was ending and the teenage drivers were making a mass exodus from the parking lot. Traffic was heavy and I immediately noticed something alarming. About two out of every three students driving had a cellphone in their hand.

Traffic was a slow crawl and as we stopped several times to let others out of the endless rows of parking, the texting-and-driving trend continued. The school has several police officers who patrol the campus throughout the day and are usually out in the parking areas after students are released. I was surprised by the students’ open disregard for the state and local laws prohibiting texting and driving and began to wonder how effective “Don’t Text and Drive” campaigns really are. I thought, “If they are doing this here on campus, they are certainly doing it out in town on the main roads.”

My daughter, hypnotized by the endless sea of tweets and photos popping up on her own cellphone, was oblivious to what was happening. I got her attention and began pointing them out one by one — teen drivers with a cellphone in their hand. Her response was, “It’s not like they are out on the roads going fast.” I realized right then and there that she and I had some serious talking to do before she gets her full driver’s license. Whatever her mother and I were teaching about the dangers of distracted driving had failed to register with her.

The National Safety Council reports that half of all teens will be involved in an accident before they graduate high school. As a parent, it’s scary to know that my daughter has a 50/50 chance out there on the roads. Fortunately, those odds can be significantly reduced with a simple solution — putting down the phone. A recent poll conducted by AAA found that 94 percent of teen drivers acknowledge the dangers of texting and driving, but 35 percent admitted to doing it anyway. Knowing that 11 teenagers die each day from this dangerous behavior, many still believe they have solid texting-and-driving skills and can do both simultaneously.

I wondered how to change my daughter’s perception of this risky behavior and how to spread that to her friends and the entire high school. While I don’t text and drive, the NSC reports that 48 percent of young drivers said they have seen their parents drive while talking on a cellphone, and 15 percent of young drivers have seen their parents texting while driving. As parents, we must set the example that cellphones and driving never mix. Some other tips to ensure your teen driver is focused on the road include:

• Downloading or developing a short contract that spells out specific expectations, prohibitions and goals.

• Ensuring your teen turns the cellphone on "silent" or completely off prior to driving.

• Establishing a specific place for the cellphone that is out of reach (e.g., the trunk or glove box).

• Downloading a cellphone app that prevents your teen from texting while driving.

I’ll continue to look for ways to show my daughter the dangers of texting and driving, and I encourage you to do the same. About 1.5 million accidents occur each year from drivers being distracted by their cellphones. I don’t want her to be one of them.


Eyes on the Road

WALLACE KENNEDY JR.
Directorate of Assessments and Prevention
U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center
Fort Rucker, Alabama

Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of operating a motor vehicle. All distractions endanger driver, passenger and bystander safety. Some of these distractions include:

• Texting

• Eating and drinking

• Grooming/applying makeup

• Reading, including maps

• Using a navigation system

• Watching a video

• Unrestrained children

• Unrestrained pets

• Adjusting a radio, CD player or MP3 player

• Talking cellphone or to passengers

The best way to end distracted driving is to educate all military personnel, Department of Defense civilians, contractors and family members about its dangers. Put down the phone and other distractions when you are behind the wheel. It can mean the difference between life and death. Together, we can help save lives.

FYI

See what your organization is saying about driving behaviors and hazards. The Army Readiness Assessment Program is web-based program that is quick and easy. The ARAP assessments are confidential, may be predictive and users are anonymous. In fiscal 2016, there were 153,780 ARAP respondents. Of those, 24,852 (16.2 percent) mentioned “drive” or “driving” in their response to the question: The most hazardous things I do is/are …

Some of the ARAP free-text responses range from:

• Driving after getting off duty (staff-duty/CQ) (782 = 3.2%)

• Convoy operations (752 = 3.1%)

• Driving while fatigued (747 = 3.0%)

• Driving and texting/cellphone use (654 = 2.6%)

• Driving long distances (458 = 1.8%)

• Driving long hours (429 = 1.7%)

• Driving and drinking and/or speeding (368 = 1.5%)

For more information, visit:

ARAP: https://arap.safety.army.mil

Polices and Guidance: AAA https://www.aaafoundation.org/distracted-driving

Military: https://safety.army.mil/OFF-DUTY/PMV-4/DistractedDriving.aspx

DoD Traffic Safety Program: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/605504p.pdf

Army Regulation 385–10: http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r385_10.pdf