MDOT promotes ‘5 To Drive’ for National Teen Driver Safety Week
The Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration has announced it is working to save lives by promoting ‘5 To Drive’ during National Teen Driver Safety Week.
NTDSW is October 16-22, and customer service agents from the MVA will hand out safety information to new teen drivers at all full-service locations during that week.
This safety information is meant to target five behaviors that can reduce the risk of fatal car crashes involving young people, according to the MVA:
- No cell phones – If you glance at your phone for only five seconds driving at 55 mph, your car travels the length of a football field.
- No extra passengers – Driving with just one friend doubles the risk a teen driver will be involved in a fatal crash.
- No speeding – 40 percent of all young drivers killed in Maryland were speeding.*
- No alcohol – 11 percent of young drivers killed in Maryland were under the influence of alcohol.*
- Always buckle up – 24 percent of young drivers killed in Maryland were not wearing a seat belt.*
MDOT and MVA officials report that in 2015, 21 drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 were killed on Maryland roads, a 75 percent increase from 2014 when Maryland recorded 12 fatalities. Also, between 2011 and 2015, an average of 22 drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 were killed on Maryland roads every year.
“The tragic increase in teen driver traffic deaths on our roads last year is unacceptable,” said MVA Administrator Christine E. Nizer. “We encourage parents to take an active role in discussing safe driving behaviors with their teens. It can save their lives.”
Along with other members of the Maryland Teen Driver Safety Coalition, the MVA says it promotes model safety programs and messages to schools, teens, parents and others who help coach new drivers.
Maryland is also noted to have a strong graduated driver licensing system, also known as the Rookie Driver program, which includes restrictions during the learner’s permit and provisional license phases which target the highest risk conditions and behaviors for new drivers, including:
- Limits on passengers for new drivers under age 18
- Prohibition on cell phone use and texting
- Restrictions on driving from Midnight to 5AM
- Zero tolerance for drinking and driving
- Minimum holding period with no moving violations before moving to the next license stage
Governor Larry Hogan recently announced more than $12.5 million in federal highway safety funds to more than 80 agencies and organizations across Maryland. The funds will help reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries across the state and are a key component of ‘Marylands Strategic Highway Safety Plan.’
The plan brings together local, state, and federal partners and organizations such as the National Safety Council, AAA, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and numerous other corporate, non-profit, and public-sector partners. The SHSP contains more than 30 separate strategies to reduce overall roadway fatalities by at least 50 percent in the next two decades.
MDOT explains that the plan emphasizes solutions from the “Four Es” of highway safety – Engineering, Enforcement, Education, and Emergency Medical Services.
For more information on Maryland’s Rookie Driver program, click here.
For more information on the Toward Zero Deaths campaign, click here.
