PPL 3/4OF F.S.E.: Injury Prevention: Preventing Distracted Driving

Name: ______________________ Due: Friday, June 17, 2016

Part A: ____/19

Part B: ____/10

Part C: ____/39

Total: ____/68

PART A: READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING NOW A WORSE PUBLIC HAZARD THAN DRUNK DRIVERS

North America News - September 2013

Memo to mobile device users who text-and-drive: Just stop it. If you don’t, odds are not unlikely that you’ll eventually hurt or kill

others or yourself with your narcissistic stupidity. In exceedingly unlikely and rare instances that a text missive or reply from you

really is so earth-shatteringly important that it can’t wait, then it’s important enough for you to pull over is a safe parking spot and

devote it your full attention. Otherwise, the world will get along just fine without your input until you arrive at your destination or

your next fueling/bathroom stop.

Texting and other cellphone-enabled distractions emerged out of nowhere a decade ago to become today’s number-one public health

hazard—their toll now statistically surpassing that of drunk driving. There have even been at least three catastrophic train wrecks over

the past few years—in Boston, Los Angeles, and in recently Spain—all attributed to operator texting distraction.

According to the National Safety Council, more than 100,000 automobile crashes a year involve texting while driving, and according

to an AT&T Wireless survey, 75% of teens say texting while driving is “common” among their friends.

Canada’s CTV News reported last week that 47 of the 177 deaths on the province of Ontario’s highways so far in 2013 (before the

Labor Day weekend) involved distracted drivers, compared to 32 killed in alcohol impaired driving-related incidents. CTV also cited

Royal Canadian Mounted Police metrics indicating that distracted driving was a contributing factor in 104 collision fatalities in British

Columbia in 2010, and international research showing that some 20-30% of all vehicle collisions now involve driver distraction.

The situation is just as serious in the U.S. where the latest State Farm/Harris Interactive survey conducted among 14-18 year olds

reveals that teen drivers are aware of road dangers but continue in some risky behaviours anyway. The survey found that 49% of

licensed drivers admit to texting while behind the wheel, and 2 out of 5 believe they have no control over whether they will get into a

car crash despite research showing that 75% of crashes involving teens are caused by driver error.

The Text Kills project is a donation-supported outreach program that regularly partners with law enforcement, fire/safety authorities,

schools, other non-profits, community outreach programs, and corporate safety officers in an effort to educate and increase public

awareness concerning the dangers of cell phone use while driving.

Text Kills has also been conducting an Indiegogo campaign (now concluded) to raise funds that will be used to produce a one-of-a-

kind, educational documentary on texting while driving—working title: “Smartphones of Mass Destruction”—that will focus four

main aspects of the relatively new, and very dangerous byproduct, of using mobile technology while driving (TWD). The

documentary will cover the stories, science, psychology, technology, and laws surrounding the practice, which the organization says

has become the nation’s number one killer of teens, with 3,331 people dying in incidents caused by TWD in 2011.

Would you get in a car driven by someone you knew was impaired by alcohol? Passengers are urged to demand either cease and desist

or to be let out of the car shroud they find themselves in a moving vehicle with a texting driver. CTV cites Ontario Provincial Police

Highway Safety Division commander Chief Superintendent Don Bell observing that, “Most people would not get into a vehicle with

an impaired driver, and they are at as much risk in the presence of a distracted driver as an impaired driver.” Actually, even greater

risk, based on above-noted metrics. Only 13% of Canadian licensed drivers are between the ages of 16 and 24, but according to the

Traffic Injury Research Foundation, they account for nearly 25% of the motor vehicle related deaths and injuries. Canadian teenagers

face a higher risk of death per mile/kilometre driven than all other age groups—about three times the rate for 35 to 44 year old

licensed drivers—and the most common way for young Canadians to be injured or killed is when they are a driver or a passenger in a

vehicle.

It Can Wait, originally launched by AT&T, is a campaign created to end texting and driving, and has evolved into a movement

advocating that no message is so urgent that it is worth diverting attention from the road and risking lives in the process.

It Can Wait currently is supported by the four largest U.S. wireless carriers—AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, US,

Inc.—as well as more than 200 other organizations and thousands of concerned individuals. The movement has inspired

more than 2 million pledges through ItCanWait.com, on Facebook, through text-to-pledge and tweet-to-pledge, and at

events, including the texting-while-driving simulator tour, retail presence in tens of thousands of stores, and outreach to

millions of consumers with a special focus throughout the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day, which

are known as the 100 deadliest days on the roads for teen drivers. The 2013 campaign drive will culminate on Sept. 19,

when efforts turn towards encouraging everyone to get out in their community and advocate involvement on behalf of the

movement.

As for gabbing on cellphones while driving, handheld device use behind the wheel is now illegal in most Canadian

provinces and U.S. states, but chattering on hands-free devices is still widely allowed. No Canadian jurisdiction bans all

drivers from using hands-free cell phones while driving. That’s a mistake. Don’t be fooled. Research indicates the risk of

dangerous distraction is little, if any lower, during hands-free cellphone conversations. The Canadian Automobile

Association (CAA) is convinced that using a hands-free cell phone while driving is no safer than driving while conversing

on a handheld cell phone, and is urging Canada’s provincial governments to expand their bans.

An Ontario Medical Association meta-analysis of studies from around the world indicates cellphone use affects drivers’

cognitive function, visual concentration, information processing efficiency and reaction time, reduces driver field of view,

results in less mirror-checking, decreases distance maintained between vehicles and more frequent panic braking. This

puts behind-the-wheel cellphone users and anyone in their path at significantly greater risk, regardless of whether they’re

on hands-free or hand-held phones. The studies also notice cellphone use while driving poses nearly the same risks as

driving at the legal alcohol limit.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has determined that using cellphones—even hands-free units—increases crash

risk fourfold. This is greater than low-level alcohol impairment. Texting (presumably GPS programming as well)—which

distracts visually, physically and cognitively—increases risk six fold. A 2009 study by the Harvard Center of Risk

Analysis calculated cellphone use contributing to 6% of all U.S. automobile crashes (636,000, resulting in 12,000 serious

injuries and 2,600 deaths annually, as well as $43 billion damage costs).

Findings of a new study released in June by the American Automobile Association (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety

(claimed to be the most comprehensive ever to examine mental distraction of drivers) also show that dangerous mental

distractions exist even when drivers keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road. Researchers found that as

mental workload and distractions increase, reaction time slows, brain function is compromised, drivers scan the road less

and miss visual cues, potentially resulting in their not seeing items right in front of them, including stop signs, other

vehicles, and pedestrians.

University of Utah studies in 2005 and 2006 found drivers talking on cell phones had 18% slower braking response times

than motorists focused on driving, concluding that cellphone use while driving causes impairment equal to driving with

0.08 percent blood-alcohol levels—the legal limit in most states and Canadian provinces. A 2006 National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration / Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study found 80% of crashes directly linked to driver

inattention, cellphone use topping the distractions list.

The U.S. National Safety Council advocates banning all automobile operator cellphone use, the prudent course being to

turn the ringer off and stash the phone somewhere out of reach before turning the key. The CAA says laws banning

handheld phones while allowing hands-free use provide no safety benefit, possibly even increasing accident rates by

encouraging drivers to chatter more and longer under false belief they’re safe. Doctors in Nova Scotia argue that allowing

hands-free units merely places the phone out of sight while drivers continue to talk, distracted from due diligence, while

crash risk remains 4x greater. Hands-free phones don’t eliminate cognitive distraction of focus on conversations engaged

in, and donning headsets or changing phone settings while driving divert attention from the road, increasing crash risk.

And vehicle manufacturers, responding to consumer demand, are making things exponentially worse, with most new

vehicles equipped with what amounts to an on-screen video games and communications console in the middle of the

dashboard, often along with much-ballyhooed hands-free cellphone support and voice control gadgetry. AAA predicts a

five-fold increase in new vehicle infotainment systems by 2018, and is calling for regulatory action and restraint. “There

is a looming public safety crisis ahead with the future proliferation of these in-vehicle technologies,” commented AAA

President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet in a release. “It’s time to consider limiting new and potentially dangerous mental

distractions built into cars, particularly with the common public misperception that hands-free means risk-free.”

AAA researchers found listening to the radio ranked as a category “1″ level of distraction with minimal risk, while talking

on cellphones, either handheld or hands-free, rated a “2″ or a moderate risk. However, listening and responding to in-

vehicle, voice-activated email features increased mental workload and distraction levels of drivers to a “3″ rating and

extensive risk. “These findings reinforce previous research that hands-free is not risk-free,” observes AAA Foundation

President and CEO Peter Kissinger. “Increased mental workload and cognitive distractions can lead to a type of tunnel

vision or inattention blindness where motorists don’t see potential hazards right in front of them.”

The AAA is urging the automotive and electronics industries to limit use of voice-activated technology to core driving-

related activities such as climate control, windshield wipers and cruise control, disable certain voice-to-text functions such

as using social media or interacting with email and text messages, making them inoperable while the vehicle is in motion,

and to help educate vehicle and mobile device users about responsible use and safety risks of in-vehicle technologies.

Given preponderance of scientific proof that cellphone gabbing behind the wheel is hazardous, there’s simply no

defensible case for tolerating the practice. Bans hard to enforce? Well, all sorts of laws are difficult to enforce. We still

keep them in place. In the meantime, individual users need to exercise better judgment on their own.

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING NOW A WORSE PUBLIC HAZARD THAN DRUNK DRIVERS

1. What is the number one public health hazard? (1) _____________________________________________

2. Where have there been train wrecks due to train operator distractions? (3)

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3. What percent of teens say that texting while driving is common among their friends? (1) _____________

4. Canada’s CTV News reported last week that ____________ of the 177 deaths on the province of Ontario’s

highways so far in 2013 (before the Labor Day weekend) involved distracted drivers, compared to 32 killed

in ____________impaired driving-related incidents. (2)

5. According to the Ontario Medical Association, studies around the world indicate that cellphone use affects

a driver in many ways. List four. (4)

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6. When drivers are talking on the phone, their braking ability slows _________%. (1)

7. True /False. It is a misconception that hands free means risk free. (1)

8. AAA researchers rank listening to the radio as a category _________ level of distraction. (1)

9. You receive a phone call from your mother.

She’s at the police station.

She’s been arrested for talking on her cell phone while driving (she was involved in a minor traffic

accident).

What is your reaction? (2)

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10. Despite all the research and facts cited indicating the high risks of texting while driving, why do teens

continue to put themselves and others at risk? (3 marks)

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________/19 Marks

Part B: Go to the following website: http://www.stoptextsstopwrecks.org/#home

1. Watch the featured video.

a. Do you think that if the media broadcasts more public service announcements like these, it will

deter drivers from texting while driving? (2)

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2. Click the “facts” link at the top of the page. Answer the following questions.

a. 49% of drivers with cell phones under the age of 35 send or read text messages while driving. Do

you think this is an accurate number? Where you surprised by this %? (2)

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b. 42% of young adult drivers are very/somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving. Do

you agree with this statement? Do you feel you can safely text while driving? (3)

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c. 44% of adults say they have been passengers of drivers who used the cell phone in a way that put

themselves or others in danger. Have you told a friend/parent to stop texting while driving? Why or

why not? (3)

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_______/10 Marks

Part C: Public Service Announcement

Create a public service announcement that will deter people from

distracted driving.

You must use all original photos.

If you photograph someone not currently a student of EDHS, you must get

a “consent to photograph” form signed.

You must include a hard copy and digital copy of you PSA.

See the attached rubric for evaluation information.

You may work with a partner for this part only.

Here are some examples:

Distracted Driving

PAL 3/4OF Final Summative Evaluation

The PSA…

1. Includes three appropriate statistics about distracted driving.

0 1 2 3

2. The sources of the statistics have been included.

0 1 2 3

3. The PSA is emailed/jump drive as a PDF.

0 3

4. A hard copy has been printed off.

0 3

5. The message is clear and easily identified. Ie. Distracted driving is a public hazard.

0 1 2 3

6. Includes text/title that grabs the reader’s attention and is relevant to the topic.

0 1 2 3

7. The image(s) enhance the message and is relevant to the topic.

0 1 2 3

8. Interest, motivation, effort and time clearly evident.

0 1 2 3

9. Used class time well during each period, focused on getting the project done and didn’t

distract others.

0 1 2 3 4

10. The PSA looks professional and has an organized/neat layout.

0 1 2 3

11. The spelling, punctuation, and grammar of any text on the PSA are accurate.

0 1 2 3

12. The PSA is aesthetically pleasing: Ie. Colourful and creative.

0 1 2 3

13. The FSE was handed in on time.

0 5

______/39 Marks