Organization Promotes Safe Driving for Teens

By Don Riley/Network Indiana
10/19/2010

It's National Teen Driver Safety week, an opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving among young drivers.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens. Driver distractions are a contributing factor, including cell phone usage, passengers in the vehicle, eating while driving and loud music.

Indiana Criminal Justice Institute executive director Neil Moore says they've partnered with several organizations to promote safe teen driving habits statewide. He says the institute tracks volumes of crash data on Hoosier teens.

ICJI is paying close attention to how the graduated drivers licensing law is affecting teen driver safety.

The law, aimed at drivers under the age of 18, went into effect in July 2009 with additional restrictions added a year later.

In a couple of years, Moore hopes the data begins to show that limiting driver distractions and increasing the age to obtain a drivers permit reduces vehicle crashes among Indiana's teen drivers.

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