Summary
Camden County 4-H'ers were so influenced by a lesson on the dangers of texting and driving during 4-H State Council that they shared the information with people on the highway with signs and with their peers by teaching others about the dangers. Most of the 4-H'ers reacted to the lesson and video with the comment, “that's scary and sad.” The knowledge gained has caused a change in attitude and behavior change is occurring.
Situation
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “each day, more than 15 people are killed and more than 1,200 people are injured in crashes that were reported to involve a distracted driver.1 Distracted driving is driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving; these activities can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash.” The three main types of distractions are visual—taking your eyes off the road; manual—taking your hands off the wheel; and cognitive—taking your mind off what you are doing.2 “Distracted driving activities include things like using a cell phone, texting, and eating. While any of these distractions can endanger the driver and others, texting while driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction.2”
“A recent CDC analysis examined the frequency of two major distractions—cell phone use and texting. Results of the analysis included the following findings:4
Cell phone use while driving:
25% of drivers in the United States reported that they “regularly or fairly often” talk on their cell phones while driving.3
75% of U.S. drivers ages 18 to 29 reported that they talked on their cell phone while driving at least once in the past 30 days, and nearly 40% reported that they talk on their cell phone “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving.3
Texting or e-mailing while driving:
9% of drivers in the United States reported texting or e-mailing “regularly or fairly often” while driving.3
52% of U.S. drivers ages 18-29 reported texting or e-mailing while driving at least once in the last 30 days, and more than a quarter report texting or e-mailing “regularly” or “fairly often” while driving.3
References from (http://www.cdc.gov/MotorVehicleSafety/distracted_driving/index.html).
1.National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts: Distracted Driving 2009. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, September 2010. Publication no. DOT-HS-811-379. Available from http://www.distraction.gov/ . Accessed June 27, 2011.
2.National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Statistics and Facts about Distracted Driving. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2011. Available from: http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/index.html . Accessed September 20, 2012.
3.Porter Novelli. (2010). HealthStyles 2010 Survey. Unpublished raw data. Washington, DC: Adam Burns.
4.Porter Novelli. (2010). EuroPNStyles 2010 Survey. Unpublished raw data. London, England: Melissa Taylor.
Response
The Lowndes County Distracted Driving Youth Leadership Council developed a lesson plan called Distraction 101 using activities to show the dangers of texting and driving and showing a video called The Last Text sponsored by AT&T. This lesson was shared with the participants of Georgia 4-H State Council in the summer of 2011. The Camden County delegates returned home motivated and shared it with the Camden County 4-H staff. A senior 4-H'er in the Safety Project taught the lesson to the 17 middle and 12 high school 4-H'ers during their club meetings in March 2012. A retrospective pre and post test was given to the participants to determine if they would change or encourage others to change their cell phone use behavior as a result of this lesson.
Impact
As we were driving home from State Council, there was a very bad wreck on I-16 that brought traffic to a halt. The Camden County 4-H'ers on our mini-bus began noticing that the people in the other cars near us were texting and driving. They remembered what they had just learned at the event and urgently pulled out paper and markers and began making signs saying “Don't Text & Drive” and showing them to the drivers that were texting. At least one driver acknowledged the sign and stopped texting. Hopefully all of the other drivers and passengers read our signs, and thought twice about texting and driving and shared what they saw with their friends and family.
As a result of the lesson taught by the Camden County Senior 4-H'er, 25 students responded to the retrospective pre and post test. Because the lesson was given to middle and high school students only eight of the 25 have learner's permits or licenses; but of that eight two responded that they have texted while driving and five responded that they have talked on the cell phone while driving. In Georgia it is illegal for anyone to text while driving and illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to talk on the phone while driving. When asked about being in a vehicle with other people who have been texting and driving, 32% said they have been in the vehicle with another teen who has texted while driving; and 44% said that their parents have texted while driving.
When asked to rate their feeling of the dangers discussed and how they felt prior to participating in the discussion and after the discussion, only 56% ranked texting while driving extremely dangerous before the lesson and 80% felt it was extremely dangerous after the lesson. While 16% ranged talking on the cell phone while driving extremely dangerous before the lesson, 28% felt it was extremely dangerous after the lesson. When asked if they would change their behavior as they drive as a result of this class, 52% said yes, 26% said no, and 8% said I don't know. Most of the 4-H'ers reacted to the lesson and video with the comment, “that's scary and sad.” The knowledge gained has caused a change in attitude and behavior change is occurring.
State Issue
Positive Development for Individuals, Families and Communities
Details
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Year:
2012
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Geographic Scope:
County
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County:
Camden
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Program Areas:
