Driver Distraction Study from The University Of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and Toyota Shows Significant

   Driver Distraction Study from The University Of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute and Toyota Shows Significant Correlation Between Parent and
                              Teen Distractions

Teens Are 26 Times More Likely to Text While Driving than Their Parents Think

Teens Regularly Drive with Multiple Teen Passengers and No Adult despite
Significant Risks

PR Newswire

TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 27, 2012

TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
(TMS), today announced preliminary findings from a major, national study of
teen drivers (ages 16 to 18) and parents of teen drivers conducted jointly
with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). 
The Study shows a significant correlation between parent and teen behaviors
behind the wheel, suggesting parents can play an influential role in modeling
risky behavior on the road.  The UMTRI/Toyota Teen Driver Distraction Study,
the largest scientific survey of its kind, also found that texting while
driving remains commonplace among teens, despite ongoing, nationwide efforts
to educate drivers on the significant risks associated with these
behaviors.   

The UMTRI/Toyota Study is based on national telephone surveys of more than
5,500 young drivers and parents.  The survey includes interviews with 400
pairs of teens and parents from the same household (dyads).  This is a unique
factor that allows researchers to analyze closely how driving behaviors among
parents and teens within the same family unit relate to each other.  In
addition to a national sample, the study includes local surveys in Chicago,
Philadelphia, Houston, Long Island, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. 

Commenting on the connection noted in the study between parent and teen
driving behavior, Dr. Tina Sayer, CSRC Principal Engineer and teen safe
driving expert, said, "Driver education begins the day a child's car seat is
turned around to face front.  As the Study shows, the actions parents take
and, by extension, the expectations they set for young drivers each day are
powerful factors in encouraging safe behavior behind the wheel.  Seat belts
and good defensive driving skills are critical.  However, the one piece of
advice I would give to parents to help them keep newly licensed drivers safe
on the road it is to always be the driver you want your teen to be."

Nationally, motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for U.S.
teens and, in 2010, seven teens between the ages 16 and 19 died every day on
average from motor vehicle injuries, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.[1] 

The Study, sponsored by Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC),
was designed to shed new light on frequently discussed driving risks and to
identify effective recommendations to help keep teens safe and help parents
serve as more effective driving role models.  The Study also looked at a range
of risk factors that receive less public attention but pose great risks on the
road as well as the role parents and peers play in encouraging distracted
driving behaviors.

Today's announcement represents only a portion of the study's preliminary
findings.  UMTRI and Toyota's CSRC continue to analyze, compare, and contrast
the data and will publish additional findings incrementally over the next few
months. 

Key Findings from the UMTRI/Toyota Teen Driver Distraction Study

The sample of teens and parents from the same households (the dyad sample)
showed a strong correlation between driving behaviors and attitudes within
families.  In general, parents who engage in distracting behaviors more
frequently have teens who engage in distracting behaviors more frequently. 
Other findings from the dyad sample include:

  o What Teens Think Their Parents Do Behind the Wheel Matters More Than What
    Parents Say They Do:   What teens think  their parents do while driving
    has a greater impact on the teens' behavior than what parents actually
    report they do.

       o If a teen thinks that his or her parent looks for something in the
         vehicle while driving, the teen is four times (4.1) more likely to
         also look for something while driving (as compared to if the teen
         does not think their parent does this at all).

            + If a teen's parent reports looking for something in the vehicle
              while driving, the teen is two times (2.2) more likely to do the
              same (as compared to if the parent does not report this behavior
              at all).

       o If a teen thinks that his or her parent eats or drinks while driving,
         the teen is three times (3.4) more likely to likely to do the same
         (as compared to if the teen does not think their parent does this at
         all).

            + If a teen's parent reports eating or drinking while driving, the
              teen is two times (2.2) more likely to do the same (as compared
              to if the parent does not report this behavior at all).

       o If a teen thinks that his or her parent deals with passenger issues
         while driving (interacts with passengers regarding requests, concerns
         and conflicts), the teen is five times (4.7) more likely to do so
         themselves (as compared to if the teen does not think their parent
         does this at all).

            + If a teen's parent reports dealing with passenger issues while
              driving, the teen is two times (1.7) more likely to do the same
              (as compared to if the parent does not report this behavior at
              all).

  o Teens Think Their Parents Engage in Driving Distractions More Often Than
    May Be the Case:  A third of teens (32 percent) believe that their parents
    use an electronic device for music while driving, while only one in ten
    parents (10 percent) report that they do so. Seventy-one percent of teens
    believe that their parents read or write down directions while driving,
    while 55 percent of parents say they do so.  Eighty-five percent of teens
    believe that their parents deal with passenger issues while 70 percent of
    parents say they do so.  
  o Parents May Underestimate How Much Their Teens Text While Driving:  Teens
    read or send text messages once a trip 26 times more often than their
    parents think they do.  More than a quarter of teens (26 percent) read or
    send a text message at least once every time they drive versus the one
    percent of their parents who said their teen does this. 

Key findings from the larger, national sample of more than 5,500 respondents
include:

  o Cell Phone Use by Teen Drivers Is Similar to Parents:  More than half of
    teens (54 percent) report that they use a hand-held cell phone while
    driving, similar to the six in ten parents (61 percent) who report that
    they do so.
  o Texting While Driving Remains Pervasive:  A quarter of teens (24 percent)
    respond to a text message once or more every time they drive.   Nearly one
    in three teens (30 percent) read a text or email once or more every time
    they drive.  Almost one in ten parents (nine percent) respond to a text
    once or more every time they drive, while 13 percent of them read a text
    or email once or more while driving.   Perhaps even more alarming, one in
    five teens (20 percent) and one in ten parents (10 percent) admit that
    they have extended, multi-message text conversations while driving.
  o Digital and Social Media Are Significant Driving Distractions for Teens: 
    Teens search for music on a portable music player, such as an iPod,
    four-and-a-half times more frequently than parents do while driving.  More
    than half of teens (53 percent) say they do so, while just 12 percent of
    parents do.  More than one in ten teens, or 11 percent, say that they
    update or check social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, while driving. 
  o Teens Regularly Drive with Young Passengers Despite Serious Risks:  Nearly
    three-quarters of teens (69 percent) say they drive with two or three teen
    passengers and no adults in their car, which, according to a study by the
    AAA Foundation, is associated with a doubling of the driver's risk of
    being killed in a crash.[2] Almost half of teens (44 percent) do so with
    more than three teen passengers and no adults, which is associated with a
    quadrupling of a driver's risk of being killed.[3]  Additionally, half of
    teens (50 percent) say that they deal with passengers while driving.
     Nearly one in three teens (30 percent) say they do this at least once a
    trip or more. 

Driver Education Begins When the Car Seat Starts Facing Forward

"Children look to their parents for a model of what is acceptable. Parents
should know that every time they get behind the wheel with their child in the
car they are providing a visible example that their child is likely to
follow," said Dr. Ray Bingham, Research Professor at the University of
Michigan Transportation Research Institute and Head of the Young Driver
Behavior and Injury Prevention Group.  "By examining the willingness of U.S.
parents and teens to engage in high-risk driving behaviors, this study will
inform programs that help reduce distracted driving and the non-fatal injuries
and death that it causes."

Toyota complements this research with extensive safety education programs for
young drivers and their parents as well as direct outreach to consumers,
including:

  o Toyota Driving Expectations (www.toyotadrivingexpectations.com), which
    provides hands-on, real world defensive driving courses that go far beyond
    what is taught in standard driver education courses;
  o Toyota Teen Driver (www.toyotateendriver.com), a partnership with
    Discovery Education, which offers free online teen safety resources to
    parents, teens, educators and schools and has annual contests, including
    the Toyota Teen Driver Video Challenge and Educator Challenge, which
    reward scholarships and prizes, and are designed to inspire teens to make
    safer decisions behind the wheel; and
  o Additional teen safe driving partnerships with DoSomething.org and the
    National Safety Council.

Sitting down with teens to draft a Safe Driving Contract can help jumpstart
this dialogue.  This contract is a mutual agreement that outlines a parent's
expectations for a teen's driving behaviors and the consequences when those
expectations are not met.  Parents can find a sample agreement at
www.toyotateendriver.com.

About the UMTRI/Toyota Teen Driver Distraction Study

American Directions conducted the national telephone survey of 2,610 newly
licensed drivers between the ages of 16 and 18 and 2,934 parents of drivers in
this age group from August through September, 2012.  The survey includes
interviews with 400 pairs of teens and parents from the same household
(dyads). 

ABOUT TOYOTA'S COLLABORATIVE SAFETY RESEARCH CENTER

The Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) works with leading North
American universities, hospitals, research institutions and agencies on
projects aimed at developing and bringing to market new safety technologies to
reduce traffic fatalities and injuries on North America's roads. Based at the
Toyota Technical Center (TTC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the CSRC follows an open
research approach based on sharing Toyota talent, technology, and data with a
broad range of institutions and regulators so that safety advances can benefit
all of society. To learn more about Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research
Center, please visit the newly redesigned www.toyota.com/csrc.

ABOUT TOYOTA

Toyota (NYSE:TM) established operations in North America in 1957 and currently
operates 14 manufacturing plants.  There are more than 1,800 Toyota, Lexus and
Scion dealerships in North America which sold nearly 2 million vehicles in
2011. Toyota directly employs more than 35,000 in North America and its
investment here is currently valued at more than $23 billion, including sales
and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and
design. Toyota's annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services
from North American suppliers totals nearly $25 billion.

ABOUT UMTRI

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute is committed to
advancing safe and sustainable transportation for a global society. Located in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, the heart of the transportation industry, UMTRI partners
with government and industry and draws on scholarly collaborations to deliver
high-quality research and the deployment of solutions to critical
transportation issues. For more information about UMTRI, its research
facilities, faculty and staff, ongoing research and collaborative
opportunities, please visit: www.umtri.umich.edu

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030501/TOYLOGO)

 

[1] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Web-based Injury
Statistics Query and Reporting System, Sept 28, 2012

[2] AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, "Teen Driver Risk in Relation to Age
and Number of Passengers"
May 2012

[3] Ibid.

 

 

 

SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.