Despite risks, teens report texting while driving

Distracted driving has been a hot topic this year with more statewide bans, a government summit addressing the issues and looking at solutions, and even a graphic anti-texting video showing the risks. But the messages may not be hitting home with teen drivers. A new study shows that a quarter of American teens have texted while driving—dangerous behavior for a group that statistically, already carries significant risks when behind the wheel.  

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project conducted a survey of 800 teens aged 12-17 years and asked about their behaviors with cell phone use in cars. Additionally, they conducted focus groups with teens in collaboration with University of Michigan. The study found 34 percent of teens with cell phones say they have texted while driving, which translates into 26 percent of all American teens. Fifty-two percent of teens ages 16-17 in the study admit to talking on the cell phone while driving, which translates into 43 percent of all U.S. teens aged 16-17.

The statistics on teen drivers is worrisome; motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2008, 16 percent of drivers in fatal crashes under the age of 20 were related to distracted driving. That age group had the greatest proportion of fatalities due to distracted driving. Overall, in 2008, 5,870 people died and an estimated 515,000 were injured in crashes where distracted driving was reported by police.

Cell phones have become an integral part of society, especially in teenagers. The study found 75 percent of American teenagers own a cell phone and 66 percent of them send and receive text messages. The teens who were part of the focus group stated a number of reasons why they text and drive, including to determine the whereabouts of their friends and parents, to get directions, and to flirt. They also report trying a number of techniques to text safely, including only texting while stopped or holding up the phone at eye level, so their head isn’t down. (Any distraction poses a risk, but activities that take your eyes off the road for a sustained period are dangerous, and the situation is made worse when a hand, or hands, or not on the steering wheel.) The study also noted that 48 percent of teens aged 12-17 say they have been in a car with a texting driver and a number of them reported the risky behavior was from their parents. Some teens found it disconcerting, but others thought their parents were good drivers and could handle their phones safely. (See “Video: Taylor Swift SNL spoof mocks bad parent drivers.”) 

The distracted driving issue is a real danger, and the solutions are not so easily and quickly implemented. The responsibility may need to fall on parents first to set their own rules and guidelines for cell phone use by their teen drivers. However, that also goes along with adjusting their own distracted driving behavior, so they aren’t sending a mixed message that talking or texting behind the wheel is safe for some and not for others.

—Liza Barth

For more information on distracted driving see our related reports:
Hands-free cell phone laws: Are they effective?
Distracted driving summit: The highlights
Choosing words wisely in the distracted driving discussion
Distracted Driving Summit: The hands-free debate
Defining the problem: Casting a wide net over driver distraction
Automakers agree to ban
Anti-texting video to scare drivers straight
Using wireless communication devices while driving
Cell phone use and driving laws
Dangers of cell phones while driving
Should cell phone use by drivers be illegal?

Hybrid vehicles have higher pedestrian incidents

A recent report from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that hybrid electric vehicles have a higher incidence rate of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes than do conventional vehicles in certain situations.

NHTSA looked at state-level crash files to compare crash rates on these two types of vehicle engines. Out of 8,387 hybrids 77 (or .9 percent) were involved in crashes with pedestrains. Out of 559,703 conventional vehicles studied, 3,578 (or .6 percent) were involved in crashes with pedestrians. In crashes involving bicyclists, 48 (or almost .6 percent) were involved in crashes with a hybrid vehicle whereas conventional vehicles were implicated in 1,862 (or .3 percent) of crashes.

The study (pdf) found that these incidences were more likely to occur in areas with low speed limits. The hybrids had a higher incidence—two times more likely to have a pedestrian crash—when they were slowing or stopping, backing up, or going in or out of a parking space. Most hybrids employ their electrical motors only at these situations, making these cars eerily quiet. However, there was no difference in rate of pedestrian crashes between these two vehicles when they were going straight.

In 2007, there were 70,000 pedestrians injured and 4,654 deaths due to crashes. A number of organizations, including the National Federation for the Blind, are pushing for legislation that would require all hybrid and electric vehicles to emit a sound. A number of car makers are looking into warning systems, as well.

In the meantime, hybrid drivers need to be aware of their stealthy approach and use extra vigilance and possibly look into installing a backup alert warning device or even a backup camera to be able to see pedestrians and bicyclists around their vehicle. Likewise, pedestrians need to be vigilant as electrified automobiles will become increasingly common.

For more on vehicle safety, see our safety guide and read "Quiet-running hybrids and electrics need audible backup alerts"

—Liza Barth 

Halloween safety tips for pedestrians and drivers

With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, expect even more ghosts, goblins, and witches to take part in the annual trick-or-treat festivities. And with the return to Standard Time on November 1st, it’s even more of an opportunity for children to stay out later at night with the extra hour due to turning back the clocks at 2 a.m.

Pedestrians and drivers need to be extra cautious on the roads, as Halloween is typically the second deadliest day for pedestrians after New Year’s Day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In addition, Saturdays have the highest probability of pedestrian crash fatalities (more than any other day of the week), so it’s important to be extra vigilant this year and follow these tips to ensure a safe and incident-free Halloween.

For pedestrians:

• Parents should accompany children if they are younger than 12 years old.
• Children should walk and not run from house to house.
• Children should stay on sidewalks instead of walking between cars or on lawns where there could be ornaments or wires that could be a tripping hazard.
• Consider a costume that is a lighter color and more visible to motorists (for more on costume safety, see our safety blog). Add reflective material front and back; it can even be part of the design. http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2009/10/halloween-costume-safety.html
• If children are walking in the dark, give them a flashlight, so they can be seen by drivers. Glow sticks can further aid visibility.

For drivers:

• Drive slowly in and around neighborhoods and residential streets.
• Watch for children who may dart out into the street. Expect the unexpected.
• If you are driving children around for trick or treating, make sure they are buckled up in a child safety seat or vehicle seatbelt, each and every time they enter the car.
• Pull over to safe locations to let children exit curb side, away from traffic. Use your hazards to alert other drivers of not only your car, but to exercise caution. Especially on Halloween, they will be extra wary for children as a result.
• Do not use a cell phone or other mobile device while driving. It is far too dangerous to drive on Halloween to add further, unnecessary risks. Pull over safely to check voice messages, or texts, as needed.

For tips on preparing your house for Halloween safety, see our Baby blog. Our safety blog has some Halloween cautions and recalls. For more on child safety, see our kids and car safety guide.


Have a happy and safe Halloween!

—Liza Barth 

National School Bus Safety Week: Safety tips for parents and children

This week marks National School Bus Safety Week and our earlier post looked at the safety of riding the bus to school and found that they are the safest form of transportation for children.  However, there are are a number of additional tips for children and parents to keep in mind.

The greatest risk with school buses is when children are boarding and leaving the bus; that is why motorists should be extra vigilant when sharing the road. The most important tip for drivers is to obey the stop arm signal and red flashing lights outside the bus and do not pass until the signals are turned off. Also, never pass on the right side of a bus where children exit and enter. Children often do not pay attention to the road, so it’s important for drivers to keep a close watch when driving in school areas and neighborhoods.

Here are some other tips from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to consider:

• Supervise children to make sure they get to the bus stop on time.
• Make sure they wait on the curb away from the road and avoid rough play.
• Teach your child to ask the driver for help if he/she drops something near the bus. A driver cannot see a child who may bend down to pick something up. Have your child use a backpack or bag to keep loose items contained.
• Make sure clothing and backpacks have no loose drawstrings or long straps that may get caught in the handrail or bus door.
• Encourage safe school bus loading and unloading.
• If you think a bus stop is in a dangerous place, talk with your school or transportation office about changing the location.

For more on child safety, see our kids and car safety guide.

—Liza Barth 

National School Bus Safety Week: How safe are school buses?

Every day, more than 23 million children across the country get into those big yellow buses and head to school. October 19th to 23rd marks National School Bus Safety Week and many parents worry about sending off their most precious cargo on the school bus each morning, but riding the bus to school is considered the safest forms of transportation. It is approximately seven times safer than passenger vehicles.

Each year 42,000 people are killed in motor vehicle crashes, however, on average just six school-age passengers die while riding a school bus. According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 153 people killed in school bus related crashes in 2008. Sixty-eight percent were occupants of other vehicles involved in the crash; nine percent were school bus passengers, and 13 percent pedestrians. Unfortunately, there are deaths related to school bus accidents, however the percentage is relatively small compared to the total number of fatalities on the roads each year. Of course, no matter the percentages, the goal is to eliminate avoidable deaths.

Some suggest that the use of seat belts could help, but NHTSA has not found any data to suggest that children are safer belted than not when riding in school buses. A bus’s size helps in that it is more like a heavy truck and results in lower forces to school bus passengers than those experienced by passengers in cars, light trucks or vans. By design, school buses are also “compartmentalized” to provide crash protection through their higher energy-absorbing seat backs and closely spaced seating rows. Small school buses, however, are required to have lap and/or shoulder belts, since their size and weight are more similar to passenger vehicles. In addition, the increase in manufacturing and service cost, as well as potentially reduced seating capacity when fitted with seat belts, could result in fewer children able to ride the bus, which means more will be traveling in less safe passenger vehicles. However, others have suggested this sends a contradictory message to children that they must buckle up in a car but it’s OK not to in a school bus. Thus, they lose the daily habit of buckling a seat belt every time they travel in a vehicle.

With or without seat belts, school buses are a safe form of transportation and can be even safer with extra vigilance, our next blog will discuss safety tips for children and parents in and around the bus.

For more on child safety, see our kids and car safety guide.

—Liza Barth 

National Child Passenger Safety Week: Protecting precious passengers

September 12-18 is National Child Passenger Safety Week, and it serves as a reminder of the benefits child safety seats have in protecting young children in the car. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in children ages 2-14. One contributing factor is the improper use of installed child safety seats and even the failure to use one at all. To make sure all young passengers fitted to the appropriate seat and secured properly see these guidelines:

Infants should be in a rear facing seat until at least 1 year old and 20 pounds. But new research shows that they are better protected if they remain rear facing for as long as 23 months.

Once a child outgrows the infant seat, you can move to the convertible seat, which can be used rear-facing, then forward facing until they reach the seat limits.

A child should be in a forward-facing seat with a harness until they reach the height or weight limit typically, from 40-65 lbs and 50 inches. After that, they should ride in a booster seat until the vehicle seat belts fit properly, which means the lap belt lays across the upper thighs, and the shoulder belt lays across the chest. This usually is around age 8 and at 4 feet, 9 inches tall, but will vary for each child. All children under age 13 should ride in the back seat.

Note that seat weight and height limits are listed on every car seat, and most seats have expiration dates molded into the plastic, or the manual will have a recommended usage limit.

In 2007, an estimated 358 children under age 5 were saved from the use of child safety seats and booster seats. To ensure proper installation have your car seat inspected by certified technicians. To find an inspection station near you go to: http:// www.seatcheck.org or http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm. September 12th is National Seat Check Saturday where there will be inspection events nationwide. It is a great opportunity to have your car seats checked to ensure they are properly installed.

For more on child safety see these related reports:
Safe driving with children
Car seat timeline
Car seat Ratings and buying advice
Guide to kids and car safety

—Liza Barth 

Driving with more than two kids

Fitting car seats can be a puzzle made more challenging with the need to transport multiple children. I have two children in car seats (one rear-facing and the other forward-facing) and recently had my 9-year-old niece with us for the weekend. We only have a small car and small SUV, so she had to squeeze between the car seats. We first tried the SUV (Toyota RAV4), but couldn’t access the center seat belt, because it was wedged under the forward facing convertible seat and wouldn’t move so that she could access it. We ended up using our Toyota Corolla. It was still a tight squeeze (luckily my niece is slender), but all kids were able to safely buckle up

When I was a child, back during simpler times, we would all pile in the car or station wagon. Car seats weren’t available, so it was easier to carpool and drive together. It made for lots of fun in the back seat. Obviously, the invention of child car seats has greatly improved child safety and reduced child crash deaths, but it also meant a change in the driving culture. If you want to drive more than your brood, you may need to install an additional child safety seat--if you have room in your current car. Progress has meant we lost the ability to car pool other kids, and thereby save gas and help our friends.

We were lucky that my niece doesn’t need to use a car seat, but if we had to fit another child in a car seat, we would most likely have a problem. The move from two to three kids in regards to transportation is difficult. Many people I know who have three children buy a minivan, but others decide they don’t want the stigma of a minivan and choose a 3-row SUV instead. However, they end up sacrificing fuel economy for image.

The good news is you may not necessarily have to “upsize” to transport more children. With the right car seats, you can potentially fit three across in some vehicles, but it requires buying narrow car seats. We recently posted our updated convertible car seat Ratings (available to online subscribers) where we list our recommendations for car seats that offer the best potential for fitting more than two children in the back seat. Armed with this information, you may be able to transport the family and friends without super-sizing your vehicle, saving money that could be used for college.

See our new car selector to compare vehicle fuel economy, plus check out our Ratings and buying advice on infant, convertible, and booster car seats.

—Liza Barth

What to do with a used car seat?

Car seats are one of the most important baby accessories, providing essential safety, security, and convenience for transporting small children. In the course of a little one’s life, there will be a number of seat changes, meaning parents not only need to research the best ones to purchase but will face the challenge in how to dispose of many old seats.

In our house of two young children we have a variety of car seats for our two cars—an infant seat, convertible, and booster. Soon, we will be moving our youngest out of her infant seat and into a rear-facing convertible seat as she is getting too heavy to cart around and will likely exceed the weight limits of the seat. At that time, we will have an infant seat that we will not be using anymore. There are a number of choices to make as to where the old seat will go. Many organizations will not accept them as donations for resale due to liability concerns, and there is no way for the consumer to know the history of the seat when buying it second hand which is why we don’t recommend using used seats from someone you don’t know.

We could give our seat to a pregnant friend or relative (if you have one). They would know the history, condition, and age of the seat, and that it has never been in an accident. However, you should be aware that child seats also have an expiration date. Most are limited to around six years of use from their date of manufacture. You may have used up some if not most of the seat’s “life” and if the friend decides to have other children a few years down the road, the seat would likely be “expired.”. After six years, the plastics could deteriorate and become weakened by many seasons of extreme hot and cold temperatures experience in a car interior. Also, car seat standards are constantly changing, so a newer model would potentially be safer.

Which left me with the option of recycling. Unfortunately, car seat recycling is not as readily available as I’d hoped or as it is with electronics. Colorado’s Children Automotive Safety Foundation  has an extensive program, as well as a number of municipalities in Oregon and Utah. I also found new program in Morristown, New Jersey, which isn’t too far from where I live. Besides having a drop off, they have an annual car seat recycling day and instruct people how to dissemble their own car seats for recycling. When the time comes, you may be able to Google a recycling program in your community.

If there is no organized car seat recycling program in your area, call your municipal waste company to find out if they will recycle or can recommend an organization that will. They may be more willing to help if you volunteer to disassemble the parts yourself.

In the meantime, I’m going to further investigate my options for my old seat, while I won’t miss lugging it around, I’ll be sad to move on from this first stage in my baby’s life.

As the many seats that Consumer Reports tests each year also require disposal following our simulated crash tests, we too will be looking for alternatives to the landfill.

If you find that the only practical alternative is to dispose of the seat as part of the trash be sure to take precautions such as removing the straps and disposing of them separately or cutting them so that the seat can’t be used again, This is especially important for seats in poor condition, that are beyond the expiration date or have been in a crash.

For more information about child car seats, see our buying advice and Ratings.

—Liza Barth 

Car seats are one of the most important baby accessories, providing essential safety, security, and convenience for transporting small children. In the course of a little one’s life, there will be a number of seat changes, meaning parents not only need to research the best ones to purchase but will face the challenge in how to dispose of many old seats.

In our house of two young children we have a variety of car seats for our two cars—an infant seat, convertible, and booster. Soon, we will be moving our youngest out of her infant seat and into a rear-facing convertible seat as she is getting too heavy to cart around and will likely exceed the weight limits of the seat. At that time, we will have an infant seat that we will not be using anymore. There are a number of choices to make as to where the old seat will go. Many organizations will not accept them as donations for resale due to liability concerns, and there is no way for the consumer to know the history of the seat when buying it second hand which is why we don’t recommend using used seats from someone you don’t know.

We could give our seat to a pregnant friend or relative (if you have one). They would know the history, condition, and age of the seat, and that it has never been in an accident. However, you should be aware that child seats also have an expiration date. Most are limited to around six years of use from their date of manufacture. You may have used up some if not most of the seat’s “life” and if the friend decides to have other children a few years down the road, the seat would likely be “expired.”. After six years, the plastics could deteriorate and become weakened by many seasons of extreme hot and cold temperatures experience in a car interior. Also, car seat standards are constantly changing, so a newer model would potentially be safer.

Which left me with the option of recycling. Unfortunately, car seat recycling is not as readily available as I’d hoped or as it is with electronics. Colorado’s Children Automotive Safety Foundation  has an extensive program, as well as a number of municipalities in Oregon and Utah. I also found new program in Morristown, New Jersey, which isn’t too far from where I live. Besides having a drop off, they have an annual car seat recycling day and instruct people how to dissemble their own car seats for recycling. When the time comes, you may be able to Google a recycling program in your community.

If there is no organized car seat recycling program in your area, call your municipal waste company to find out if they will recycle or can recommend an organization that will. They may be more willing to help if you volunteer to disassemble the parts yourself.

In the meantime, I’m going to further investigate my options for my old seat, while I won’t miss lugging it around, I’ll be sad to move on from this first stage in my baby’s life.

As the many seats that Consumer Reports tests each year also require disposal following our simulated crash tests, we too will be looking for alternatives to the landfill.

If you find that the only practical alternative is to dispose of the seat as part of the trash be sure to take precautions such as removing the straps and disposing of them separately or cutting them so that the seat can’t be used again, This is especially important for seats in poor condition, that are beyond the expiration date or have been in a crash.

For more information about child car seats, see our buying advice and Ratings.

—Liza Barth 

Safe driving with children

There are a number of times I have noticed a young child seated in a the front seat, on an adult’s lap, or not properly restrained in a child seat in rear seat of a vehicle. As a mother of two young children, I often wonder if parents really know the dangers of not securing a child properly. If they did, such sights would not be as common.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in children aged two to 14. This is due largely to not using or improper use of child car seats and vehicle seat belts. A recent report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that half of children from infants to age seven who were killed in motor vehicle crashes were not in child safety seats.

How to protect your children

While car seat laws vary from state to state, there are general guidelines and steps to ensure the safety of our children. 

Even before a child is born, a pregnant woman should make sure she is properly protected in a vehicle. (See “Pregnant drivers and passengers: Buckle up.”)

Once the baby is born, an infant should be rear-facing in the back seat until they reach a minimum of at least age one and 20 pounds. But new research shows that they are better protected if they remain rear facing as long as 23 months. NHTSA and the American Academy of Pediatrics have amended their recommendations to reflect this latest research and now recommend that children should remain rear facing up until they reach the limits of a rear facing seat. 

If your child grows out of the portable infant seat before they reach age 2, you should purchase a convertible seat that can remain rear facing longer. Once they are over the limits, you can switch the seat to face forward.

A child should be in a forward-facing seat with a harness until they reach the height or weight limit typically,from 40-65 lbs and 50”. After that, they should ride in a booster seat until the vehicle seat belts fit properly, which usually is around age 8 and at least 57 inches tall.

All children under 13 years of age should sit in the back seat and there are some that advocate staying in the back seat until driving age. The most common type of fatal vehicle crash is a front crash and also the strong force of the air bag deployment is dangerous and could be deadly to young children.

Don’t be overly anxious to graduate your child to the next step in child safety too soon as each step forward in seat type may actually represent a step back in terms of their overall safety.

Choosing the right car seat is just one part of the safety equation. As much as 80 percent of car seats may not be installed properly. One way to ensure proper installation is to have your car seat inspected by certified technicians. To find an inspection station near you look to: http:// www.seatcheck.org or http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm

While there are many steps and purchases to be made as your child grows, following these guidelines and tips will help ensure they ride safely.

For more information on infant, convertible, and booster seats, see our latest Ratings and buying advice.

—Liza Barth 

How to choose a child seat that will fit your car

Have you ever had a problem getting a car seat to properly fit in your vehicle, but no matter how hard you try, it won’t work? Not all car seats fit securely in all vehicles. But how can you know before you buy a seat?

Just in time for summer travel, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced that consumers may have some additional help in making car seats choices come the 2011 model year. as automakers will then be required to recommend specific seats in a variety of price ranges that will fit certain vehicles. A number of car manufacturers in Europe already have a program of this type. Currently only Nissan and Infiniti provide guidance of this type in the US through their Snugkids™ programs which provide a list of seats that fit their vehicles.

However, there are plusses and minuses to this program. The greatest benefit is that a lot of the work in choosing a car seat will potentially have been done for you by the manufacturer and would take away some of the trial and error of choosing a seat that fits though the details of what constitutes a good ‘fit’ are not yet known.

Negatives to this program include the potential that lists could be influenced by marketing partnerships between seat and car manufacturers and lists may not include all available brands and models We would hope it would be more about proper fit and safety rather than sales and advertising.

On the plus side, both vehicle and child seat manufacturers may become more attuned to issues that hinder secure child seat installations and find more reasons to make design changes.

The best thing for a consumer to do is to check what models are recommended by the manufacturers as a starting point, then research Consumer Reports ratings, government ease-of-use results and other sources to find the best model for you. A model that rates well from multiple sources is likely a better choice. But keep in mind that there may be other models not recommended by manufacturers that may still do well in your car and that may be worth considering and equally important is how the seat fits your child.

We continue to recommend that if you’re looking for a new car, bring in your car seat and try installing it before you buy. If you have an existing car and want to check fit, many stores will allow you to take a floor model out to the parking lot to check the fit in your vehicle. Be sure to ask a salesperson. If they won’t allow you to take the car seat out of the store, check the return policy to see if you can bring it back if it doesn’t fit properly.

Consumer Reports installs several car seats in every vehicle we test. We advise subscribers on whether it is easy or difficult and which seat types have the most secure fit. Go to the model overview page of any vehicle tested, then click on the vehicle road test tab and check out our “Driving with kids” section.

--Liza Barth