As Michael Zak reports for AOL Autos in his article “Study: Turn Signal Neglect Now a Serious Safety Issue”:

SAE observed a total of 12,000 lane-changing and turning vehicles and concluded 25 percent of drivers neglected to signal when turning and a whopping 48 percent neglected to do so when changing lanes. Applying these percentages to U.S. drivers as a whole translates to 750 billion instances of turn signal neglect per year — or more than 2 billion instances per day, according to the study.

Richard Ponziana, who authored the report and is the president of RLP Engineering in Dayton, OH, said: “The turn signal is one of the very original automotive crash prevention devices and this simple driver-to-driver communication device remains extremely effective, but only when it is accurately displayed as required by law.”

According to anecdotal evidence, Paul A. Eisenstein writes for the MSNBC blog Bottom Line, police do little to enforce laws that require drivers to use directional signals, “less than they devote to [enforcing laws on] speeding, or running stop signs and red lights.”

The study says there is a simple solution to the problem of drivers who don’t bother to use their vehicle’s directional signals. A system called the “Smart Turn Signal” would flash a “friendly reminder” to such drivers when its sensors find that their vehicles are changing lanes or starting to make a turn. And the system would also automatically turn off a directional signal when it detects the vehicle has finished changing lanes or turning.

Ponziani said a “Smart Turn Signal” system would cost less and take up less space in a vehicle than the mechanical trip mechanisms that are currently in vehicles. “This breakthrough represents a perfect opportunity to significantly reduce multi-vehicle crash rates, reduce vehicle cost and make driving a lot more friendly and courteous across the U.S.,” he said.

In one of the more than 700 comments readers posted below the MSNBC article, someone named “John E-847749″ lamented the state of affairs, and wrote the following: “How long before all the old vehicles are replaced on the road and only vehicles with the smart signal system exist? Not in my life time that’s for sure.”

Fred Craven, another commenter to the same article, suggested an improvement to existing signal systems:

Why can’t we have turn signal flashers that are loud enough to be heard? That way we’d be able to know when the flasher is going, without having to look at the indicators. Drivers have enough going on in their vision as it is. Just driving safely requires observance that is close to ( if not already in) distracted driving (What do we pay attention to now?). If the flasher is loud enough to be heard easily, drivers won’t have to look at the indicators to tell the signals are flashing; they’d be able to hear them.

Image by hotmayo (geo dee), used under its Creative Commons license.

State Attorneys General across the U.S. teamed up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council to host a nationwide “Stop the Texts” Day on May 1. At the same time, the Ad Council released a new national survey finding that 44% of drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 say their friends are the most likely people to encourage them to stop texting while driving. The next most influential group to get young adults to stop texting while driving are parents (33%), according to the survey.

The “Stop the Texts” Day press release goes on to say:

Most notably, eighty-eight percent of texting drivers said a law against the behavior would encourage them to completely stop or be less likely to text while driving. Additionally, ninety-six percent of young adult drivers said large fines, a suspended license and/or jail time, higher insurance rates, and other financial and legal consequences would encourage them not to text while driving.

The goal of “Stop the Texts” Day is to extend the message of the “Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks” texting and driving prevention PSA campaign via social media to educate young drivers about the risks of texting while driving. The groups hosting the day have released new public service announcements featuring NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne.

“Our latest research shows that young adult drivers continue to text and drive even with the knowledge that the act can seriously injure or kill others or themselves,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “With the help of NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne®, we are sending a wake-up call to young adult drivers that if you take your eyes off the road to read or respond to text messages there can be unfortunate consequences.”

The “Stop the Texts” campaign invites people to visit http://stopthetexts.adcouncil.org/stop-texts-day for information, suggestions, and downloads to help to get the message out. According to the “Stop the Texts” press release, distracted driving is the number one killer of American teens. In 2009, nearly 500,000 people were injured and over 5,000 were killed due to various forms of distracted driving, including texting while driving. In 2010, more than 3,000 people were killed and an additional 416,000 were injured due to distracted driving, which includes texting while driving.

David Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said, “Distracted driving is a deadly practice that can have devastating consequences on our nation’s roadways — that’s why we are encouraging young drivers to stay focused and never text behind the wheel.”

The “Stop the Texts” Day consortium recommends the following actions to get young people to stop texting while driving:

• Post social media updates on Facebook and Twitter about the risks of texting while driving
• Retweet posts from @stopthetexts and its Facebook fan page
• Change your Facebook profile photo and/or your Twitter profile photo to the Stop the Texts logo
• Write an open letter to young adults urging them not to text while driving, then post it at stopthetexts.tumblr.com
• Share the campaign’s image and video infographics that depict the risks of texting while driving
• Take the following poll on what motivates you not to text and drive on the Stop the Texts Facebook page. Then share the results with your friends.
• Write a blog post or mention Stop the Texts in your organization’s e-newsletter.  Suggested blog post and e-newsletter copy are on the STOP THE TEXTS Day tab at http://stopthetexts.adcouncil.org, but feel free to write in your own voice!
• Send an e-card to a friend.
• Tell your teen they risk their life and the lives of others when they text while driving
• Don’t text while driving
• You are 23 times more likely to get into a crash if you text while driving. In honor of @StopTheTexts Day, share this statistic with a friend.
• 34% of teens who drive distracted say they’re used to multi-tasking. Post this status message on Facebook if you’re against “multi-tasking” while driving!
• Share your story of how texting while driving has impacted you, at http://ht.ly/amVEI

In the kvue.com blog post titled “No More Texting While Driving!,” The Kid’s Doctor writes:

Parents, educators and national safety campaigns are going to have to take this issue and make it a national safety campaign. There are not enough police to stop every driver who is texting, but there are enough parents to keep up the work and get the word out to every new driver on up, including ourselves. TEXTING and driving is not safe. It can kill you or someone else. Let’s not just make it a day, week or month to observe. We all need to put down the phones while driving, 365 days a year, as nothing is that important!!  I hope my own children are reading this as well.

Image by Ad Council, Stop the Texts Day, used under Fair Use: Reporting.

A recent study shows that vehicle owners are more interested than ever in having driving-assist features in their vehicles. According to a press release, the “2012 U.S. Automotive Emerging Technologies Study” by J.D. Power and Associates was published on Thursday and measures the interest of vehicle owners in emerging auto technologies and their intent to buy them.

The study — conducted by the Westlake Village, California-based global marketing information services company in March 2012 — is based on responses from more than 17,400 vehicle owners. They were asked about 23 primary technologies, each with related secondary technologies.

Researchers analyzed device connectivity, navigations, auto safety, and premium sound systems. The study also contained a “key emerging technologies packaging exercise; an emerging technologies adoption calculator; and expanded psychographic and lifestyle-driven content.”

As the International Business Times (IBT) reported yesterday:

The public seems open to the idea of purchasing cars with self-driving capabilities. A survey by J.D. Power and Associates, released on April 26, shows that 37 percent of consumers ‘definitely would’ or ‘probably would’ buy the technology for their next vehicle. That number dropped to 20 percent when consumers learned that it might cost about $3000.

This is a significant level of interest for a feature that is still in the developmental stage.

The J.D. Power and Associates press release reports that vehicle owners are “nearly” as likely to buy fully autonomous driving mode systems as to purchase the less expensive semi-autonomous driving technologies such as emergency stop assist ($800), traffic jam assist ($800), or speed limit assist ($800).

Mike VanNieuwkuyk, executive director of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates, said: “Consumers are still learning about how autonomous driving technology could be used in their vehicles. Many owners are skeptical about releasing control of their vehicle and would like to see the technology proved out before they adopt it.”

The study shows that the vehicle owners with the greatest interest in fully autonomous driving “at market prices” are males (25%), those between the ages of 18 and 37 (30%), and those living in urban areas (30%). The study also finds that those vehicle owners who are interested in an automatic parallel parking feature have a high degree of interest (41%) in fully autonomous driving systems.

The press release says:

Research conducted  by J.D. Power’s Consumer Insight and Strategy Group to track social media activity regarding autonomous driving finds that online sentiment is generally positive. While some vehicle owners perceive the benefit of autonomous driving as taking the control away from careless, distracted drivers, others see it as an opportunity to be free and to enjoy the time while traveling. However, auto enthusiasts see autonomous driving as the loss of status and would not want to give up the pleasure of driving.

Other social media research findings include:

•    Many drivers believe that autonomous driving is an emerging trend, but is still far off in daily use primarily due to legal barriers and real-life implementation hurdles.

•    Drivers would want the option for autonomy during times of ‘boring’ driving, such as commuting to and from work, highway driving, going to the store or finding a parking space, but want to take control for pleasure driving or manual maneuvering.

•    Given consumer expectation that an autonomous vehicle will cost more upfront and also to maintain than a traditional vehicle, some consumers envision the potential for vehicle-sharing programs with neighbors or within families as a means to offset these costs.

The IBT article quotes Anthony Levandowski, a product manager for Google, as saying that “Every year we don’t have this [driverless car] technology built, more people die.” IBT goes on to say:

This has been Google’s main narrative in its push for driverless technology: self-driving cars can make our roads safer. The automobiles use lasers, radar sensors, cameras, GPS and other tools to keep track of variables like surrounding cars, weather conditions and traffic signs. And unlike humans, automated systems never fall asleep, drive drunk or get distracted by a text messages.

This idea is supported by statistics. Popular Science reports that ‘as safety technologies like antilock brakes and traction-control systems have taken hold, the number of fatal accidents has dropped 35 percent between 1970 and 2009, even though cars drive more than a trillion miles farther annually.’

Image by J.D. Power and Associates, used under Fair Use: Reporting.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has called for a ban on all talking and texting on cell phones while driving any vehicle in the country. He urged the strengthening of the law at the Texas Distracted Driving Summit in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday, and wrote about the issue on Friday, on his Fast Lane blog: “… [I]n light of two new studies, one by our own National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and one by Bridgestone, distracted driving is still a dangerous epidemic, particularly among our youngest drivers.”

As Jim Forsyth writes in a Reuters article in the Chicago Tribune, “LaHood has previously criticized behind-the-wheel use of cell phones and other devices, but calling for a federal law prohibiting the practice takes his effort to a new level.”

The Washington Post’s Post Local, Ashley Halsey III reports that according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,474 people died and 448,000 were injured in 2009 car accidents because of distracted driving. She notes that although public awareness of the dangers of distracted driving have increased since LaHood began his crusade against it three years ago, “surveys and the personal observation of individual drivers show that awareness of the risk hasn’t significantly reduced use.”

Halsey goes on to say:

In a national survey [PDF] by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 69 percent said that they had talked on their cellphones while driving within the past 30 days and 24 percent admitted to texting or e-mailing while driving. [...]

The National Safety Council [PDF] reported that drivers using cellphones look but fail to see up to 50 percent of the information in their driving environment. A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study of truck drivers found that they were 163 times more likely to have an accident or near accident if a driver is texting, e-mailing or accessing the Internet.

The New England Journal of Medicine reported [PDF] that a person using a cellphone when driving is four times more likely to have a crash that will result in going to the hospital.

According to Forsyth, Gary Biller, president of the National Motorists Association, said there are already enough laws covering driving while using a cell phone, and that it would be more productive to have campaigns that discourage other forms of distracted driving, like talking to passengers and tuning the radio.

Forsyth writes:

LaHood said, however, he was not as concerned about people who eat, apply makeup, or perform other distracting activities in cars because ‘not everyone does that.’

‘But everyone has a cell phone and too many of us think it is OK to talk on our phones while we are driving,’ he said at the summit, sponsored by insurance company USAA, the Texas Department of Transportation and Shriners Hospitals for Children.

LaHood compared the current problem with distracted driving with that of drunk driving 30 years ago. “It used to be that if an officer pulled you over for drunk driving, he would pat you on the back, maybe call you a cab or take you home, but he wouldn’t arrest you. Now that has changed, and the same enforcement can work for people who talk on cell phones while driving,” he said. Forsyth reports that LaHood also said he has called the CEOs of major car companies and urged them to “think twice” before adding too many Internet-based systems to new cars.

Meanwhile, the National Safety Council (NSC) has issued a press release about the potential liability employers face when their employees are involved in crashes caused by cell phone use. NSC explains the need for “organization-wide bans that include hands-free and handheld devices.”

Image by Texas Distracted Driving Summit, used under Fair Use: Reporting.

Anthony Levandowski, the project manager for Google’s self-driving car technology, told an audience at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) conference Wednesday that Google seeks partners in the automaking business to bring the car to market sooner than the next decade. David Shepardson, of The Detroit News Washington Bureau, writes: “Search engine giant Google Inc. thinks self-driving cars can be on U.S. roads in the next few years…”

Shepardson goes on to say about Levandowski:

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google could make an announcement as early as next year on when it might offer the self-driving technology, he said.

‘We don’t know what it’s going to take to show its safer than a driver,’ he said, but he predicted: ‘It’s much sooner than the next decade.’

Google has logged more than 250,000 miles in testing a fleet of 10 of its self-driving cars, Shepardson writes, but it wants to log at least one million miles before bringing the technology to market. “We’re probably going to put more miles on this technology than any car that was ever released. They don’t put 5 million miles on cars before they launch them,” Levandowski said.

As this blog has noted in previous posts, a self-driving car could help prevent a large percentage of car accidents that are caused by distracted and drowsy driving, and other human errors.

Levandowski said Google’s options include partnering with automakers, offering aftermarket installations, or even giving self-driving technology away “for free,” as a way to promote use of other Google services, Joseph B. White reports for The Wall Street Journal blog Driver’s Seat. White notes that Levandowski said, “I’m not suggesting we’re going to do that.” Google already has some relationships with automakers who are using Google’s mapping technology, White writes.

Meanwhile, business writer Nathan Bomey writes in Thursday’s Detroit Free Press that in a keynote speech at the SAE conference in Detroit, Administrator David Strickland of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the agency “views the prospect of self-driving cars as ‘a policy case’ that would be addressed ‘when we actually see that happening.’”

Strickland also said the agency is looking to accelerate various technology initiatives such as crash-warning systems and lane-departure alerts that will make it possible for vehicles to communicate with each other, and thus increase driving safety and eliminate up to 80% of crashes. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication “really has a tremendous amount of promise to save lives,” he said.

In his article, Bomey gives an update on safety initiatives:

• NHTSA is finalizing a rule to improve rear visibility in passenger vehicles.
• Thirty-eight states have adopted bans on texting while driving in part because Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has embraced the ‘bully pulpit’ to convince state governments to outlaw the dangerous activity.
• Engineers at NHTSA are ‘beyond proof of concept’ on a system that would prevent vehicles from being operated by a drunken driver and could ‘be offered as an option on vehicles of the future.’

Image by Society of Automotive Engineers, used under Fair Use: Reporting.

In the Netherlands, Domino’s Pizza’s electric delivery vehicles have a unique technology to prevent any accidents that the scooters’ lack of motor noise could cause for the visually impaired, pedestrians, bike riders, and people on the phone or wearing headphones. The solution Domino’s chose is getting a lot of media coverage and — as you can see in the following video — chuckles.

As Gawker reports in “Motormouths Generate Engine Noises for Domino’s Silent Delivery Scooters”:

In an effort to reduce the number of accidents caused by the silent scooters, Domino’s has come up with a rather satisfying solution: Imitation engine noises.

Produced by a human engine impersonator, the sounds include traditional engine sputters alongside such random outbursts as ‘Domino’s,’ ‘pizza,’ and ‘lekker’ (tasty).

In an April 24 broadcast of NPR’s All Things Considered, entitled “Dutch Domino’s Adds Car Noises To Scooter Delivery,” co-host Melissa Block said: “As you may be able to tell, it’s just a guy pretending to be an engine and muttering between fake roars: Domino’s and pizza.”

Although Domino’s added the soundtrack to electric scooters in the Netherlands, the silence of electric vehicles is a problem in the U.S. as well. As this blog reported on July 12, 2011, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was mandated to require hybrid and electric vehicles to have artificial noise generators, because studies showed that the vehicles have caused more crashes because they were silent at low speeds:

The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 requires NHTSA to write a standard by July 4, 2012 for an alert system that is automatically activated without any action by a driver or pedestrian, the agency said, and a final rule must be published by Jan. 4, 2014.

It is interesting to note that Domino’s amusing fake motor sounds are not the only options out there to give silent vehicles a soundtrack to warn pedestrians and others of their presence. As Morgan Clendaniel reports in an undated FastCoExist.com post, “What Sound Should Electric Cars Make?,” Ford (apparently, in May 2011) put four potential sounds online for consumers to vote on for the 2012 Ford Focus. Each one runs for six seconds:

The Spaceship:

The Motorboat:

The Teleporter:

and The Fighter Jet:

Image by Facebook page for Domino’s Pizza The Netherlands, used under Fair Use: Reporting.

A group of high school students are putting together a book about safe driving that will be aimed at other teens. As Cara Fitzpatrick writes for the Sun Sentinel, the group, comprised of journalism students at South Plantation High School in Plantation, FL, believes they can reach young people in ways that other safe driving campaigns do not, because as the authors, they themselves are part of the target group.

As Fitzpatrick puts it:

Driver education classes often cite statistics about how many teenagers die behind the wheel, show videos of fiery car crashes and even display cars mangled in wrecks. But that strategy ignores an all-too-common problem when it comes to teenagers: they never think it will happen to them.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in America, and that teens are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers.

The book project is part of a teen driver safety program called “I Care!” and is being created with a grant from State Farm Insurance, writes Robert Spencer Knotts, founder and president of The Humanity Project, the Dania Beach nonprofit organization that launched the “I Care!” program. According to Knotts, “I Care!” will be a comic book about driver safety and will also have poetry, stories, facts, and figures. Fitzpatrick notes that it will also include rap songs, quizzes, games, quotes about friendship, and a small section for parents.

Knotts writes:

[…] but all of it done in a way that teen drivers are likely to find appealing. ‘Cool,’ in other words, written by teens for teens. So for now, let me assure you the students are working hard on this project. We feel quite confident ‘I Care!’ will be different from any other teen driver safety program in the country […] and, we believe, more effective in saving lives.

Knotts has been meeting with the journalism students every Wednesday at the school, where the teens work in small groups on the various sections of the book. Knotts told Fitzgerald that the key to the book’s effectiveness is using “positive peer pressure” to influence student drivers. Fitzgerald reports that State Farm will distribute the books for free in South Florida and possibly nationwide, and the book will also be available online.

The NHTSA says there are three things that help to prevent teen driving accidents:

• Increasing seat belt use,
• Implementing graduated driver licensing, and
• Reducing teens’ access to alcohol.

Image by The Humanity Project, used under Fair Use: Reporting.

The U.S. Senate approved legislation last week that would require automakers to install black-box data recorders in all new cars, starting with 2015 models. The recorders are similar to ones on airplanes and provide information when there is an auto accident.

Sarah Mitroff writes for VentureBeat that Senators Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid introduced the bill, titled “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act,” which is also expected to pass in the House.

Richard Read reports for The Car Connection that the black boxes have several purposes: to help law enforcement agencies and insurance companies do their work, and also to help the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration evaluate complaints customers have about specific vehicles.

As Read writes:

For example, data recorders could’ve cut through some of the confusion and panic surrounding 2010′s Toyota/Lexus recall fiasco. (Though we’re not sure that the floormat issue would’ve been caught with black boxes.)

Mitroff notes that many new cars that have been sold in the last 10 years already have the black boxes — officially called Event Data Recorders (EDRs): “A 2006 report from The National Institute of Highway Safety showed that at least 64 percent of cars surveyed in 2005 had an EDR installed,” she writes. And that includes all cars made by General Motors, Ford, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Suzuki, according to Mitroff.

She adds:

Several different types of EDRs exist, some that continuously record information and others that are activated by accident-like conditions, such as sudden decreases in velocity, airbag deployment, or slamming on a car’s brakes. EDRs often integrate with a passenger car’s restraint system and after an airbag is deployed, car system data are recorded to the device for later examination.

Mitroff reports that, according to InfoWars, some people oppose the black boxes because of privacy concerns, as the boxes could let others find out where a person drives and when. She says critics of the black boxes also worry that the mandate for EDRs could open the door for more invasive communication devices.

But she counters those objections with the following:

Despite privacy concerns over the bill, it may end up reducing privacy problems in the long run. [The bill] explicitly states that the owner of the car owns the EDR data, an issue that has been debated in the past.

And as Kashmir Hill writes for Forbes: “Two wins for privacy here: insurance companies aren’t granted access to the valuable boxes and the bill says police have to get a court order to peek at the data under your hood.”

Image by edvvc, used under its Creative Commons license.

The following is a guest post by attorney Rick Console at Console & Hollawell P.C.

As states across the country continue to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, law officials struggle to create rules to deal with legally medicated drivers. Detecting impairment behind the wheel is particularly important for car accident attorneys in the 16 states where medical marijuana is legal, including New Jersey and Colorado. Proving impaired driving at the time of accidents goes a long way to determining fault for car accidents and who’s entitled to receive compensation for damages.

How states choose to punish those convicted of driving under the influence of a drug, including marijuana, varies widely. In Colorado, driving under the influence of marijuana can carry the same penalties as driving drunk. A first offense imposes a mandatory minimum of five days in jail and a minimum fine of $600, according to Chapter 42 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (PDF).

Authorities may elect to charge a marijuana-smoking driver with driving while ability impaired — a lesser charge. Penalties for that crime include a minimum two days in jail and a minimum fine of $200.

By contrast, New Jersey lumps marijuana use in with alcohol when it comes to getting behind the wheel. The penalty for a first offense in the Garden State includes a minimum sentence of 12 hours in jail, a minimum fine of $300, and seven-month driver’s license suspension, according to Chapter 39 of the New Jersey Statutes Revised.

No matter how stiff the states make the penalties for driving while under the influence of marijuana, no court will convict the accused unless authorities can establish a benchmark to determine impairment. THC, the active chemical in marijuana, remains in the body long after its effects wear off, making a blood test an inaccurate way of diminished driving ability.

Government researchers, according to CBS News, are working on a saliva test to catch users with active chemicals in their systems. States must still set arbitrary benchmarks for when impairment with marijuana use occurs.

A 2011 measure to set a legal limit for THC in the blood never made it out of debate in the Colorado Legislature. At publication, proposed legislation in several states is targeting a legal limit of five nanometers of TCH in the blood to determine legal impairment.

Rick Console is a New Jersey accident lawyer with more than 17  years of experience handling personal injury cases.  

Image by Joseph Adams, used under its Creative Commons license.

To encourage teens to take distracted driving seriously, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is holding a contest. NHTSA invites high school students to design a creative icon that can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other social networking sites. The icon will get the conversation going by helping those teens who are struggling to speak to their peers about the dangers of distracted driving.

On Distraction.gov, DOT writes the following to teens who are thinking about entering the contest:

We’re looking for icons that send a clear message: cell phones and driving don’t mix.

This is your chance to make your voice heard and help keep our roads safe for your family, your friends, and yourself. So, get creative — design an eye-catching graphic that you’d be proud to show off on your favorite social network.

Winning designs will be featured on Distraction.gov as part of the DOT’s official campaign to prevent distracted driving. The icon design contest is open to students between the ages of 13 and 18 in the U.S., and entries can be submitted through July 31, 2012. For more details, visit http://dd-design.challenge.gov/.

The contest began on April 16, the same date that DOT released a survey revealing that of all age groups, young people are the least likely to speak up about distracted driving when they are passengers, and the driver is texting or talking on a cell phone.

The NHTSA survey polled more than 6,000 drivers about their attitudes, knowledge, and behavior regarding cell phones. Researchers found that young drivers from 18 through 20 reported the highest level of phone use in accidents or near-accidents:

These young drivers are nearly three times as likely to report having been reading or sending a text or e-mail when such an incident occurred as compared to drivers age 25 and higher. In addition, drivers younger than 25 are two to three times more likely to drive while sending or reading a text message or email. Reports of texting while driving drop sharply as age increases.

Although about 90% of people of all ages who were interviewed said they consider a driver’s reading or sending text messages while driving to be very unsafe, only about one-third of passengers from ages 18-24 would speak up if the driver were talking on a handheld phone, as compared with about half of those surveyed over the age of 65, according to a DOT press release.

As Douglas Newcomb writes for the MSNBC.com blog Exhaust Notes, “Short of a blanket ban on cell phones in cars proposed by the National Transportation Safety Board, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood is hoping that making distracted driving more of a social stigma will play a greater role.”

In the DOT press release, LaHood said:

Distracted driving is an epidemic on our roadways, and these new findings show that our youngest drivers are particularly at risk. We’re encouraging young people across America to commit to distraction-free driving, spread the word to their family and friends, and speak up if the driver in their car is distracted.

On a page titled “Kick distracted driving to the curb by designing a social networking icon for DOT!” Challenge.gov notes the grim fact that “Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for American teens.  And when it comes to distracted driving, young people are among the most likely to text and talk behind the wheel.”

You can see a video announcing the contest here:

Image by Distraction.gov, used under Fair Use: Reporting.