Center for Transportation Safety

97a75b1c6be4b62d12ec20e015355153

teens in the driver seat

Distance Learning Is the New Normal: What TTI’s Youth Transportation Safety Program Is Doing for Young Drivers

During the school year, the TTI Center for Transportation Safety's Youth Transportation Safety (YTS) program is active in schools and communities across the country, supporting peer-led road safety education and outreach. However, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and subsequent school closures for the rest of the academic year, the YTS program staff has adapted their in-school programs to accommodate distance learning. Much like teachers across … [Read more...] about Distance Learning Is the New Normal: What TTI’s Youth Transportation Safety Program Is Doing for Young Drivers

U.S. Rep Recognizes TDS Leaders

Leaders of a growing statewide teen driving safety program who met with U.S. Representative Pete Gallego on May 20 announced their goal of reducing by half the number of young drivers using cell phones. “A recent study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that 10 percent of drivers in Texas are using their cell phone at any point in time — that means 10 percent of drivers are talking on the phone or texting right now,” said Sydney … [Read more...] about U.S. Rep Recognizes TDS Leaders

TDS Part of Publication That Takes In-Depth Look at Improving Teen Driver Safety

The Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) program is one of a few selected initiatives to be a part of a national best practice guide by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). Developed with a grant from State Farm®, Curbing Teen Driver Crashes: An In-Depth Look at State Novice Driver Initiatives comes on the heels of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), the newly enacted federal transportation funding law, which … [Read more...] about TDS Part of Publication That Takes In-Depth Look at Improving Teen Driver Safety

Oct. 14-20 National Teen Driver Safety Week

October 14-20 is National Teen Driver Safety Week. Since 2007, the nation has dedicated a week in October to bring awareness to the number one cause of teen deaths in America – car crashes. More than 3,000 teens die each year in car crashes. Education, awareness, stronger laws and law enforcement are all necessary to combat the problem, and National Teen Driver Safety Week is a great place to start. For Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) program … [Read more...] about Oct. 14-20 National Teen Driver Safety Week

Teen drivers more likely to crash in first month of unsupervised driving than after first year

Washington, D.C.— According to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, teen drivers are approximately 50 percent more likely to crash in the first month of driving than they are after a full year of experience driving on their own, and are nearly twice as likely to crash as they are after two full years of experience. Analyzing the crashes of new drivers in North Carolina, researchers found that three common mistakes—failure to … [Read more...] about Teen drivers more likely to crash in first month of unsupervised driving than after first year

Teens in the Driver Seat receives ITE award

Texas A&M Transportation Institute’s (TTI) Teens in the Driver Seat® (TDS) is the recipient of the 2011 Transportation Achievement Award in Safety by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). TDS Program Director Russell Henk was presented the award at the ITE Annual Meeting in St. Louis August 15. This is the second time that ITE has awarded TDS with the achievement award. The first time was in 2007. TDS is the nation’s first … [Read more...] about Teens in the Driver Seat receives ITE award

Vote YES on TDS

The Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) program has the opportunity to win $50,000 through the Pepsi Refresh Project to maintain and grow the program. Winners are selected based strictly on votes – and we need yours! There are four ways you can help us! Below are 3 methods for voting – EVERY DAY – for the entire month of January. If possible, we encourage you to use all three methods – we need every single vote we can get! In addition, by sharing this … [Read more...] about Vote YES on TDS

Cypress Falls students launching new safety program after survey shows pattern of risky driving behaviors

A recent survey shows that Cypress Falls students are more likely to engage in risky driving habits than other Texas teens, prompting the school to launch Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS), the nation’s first peer-to-peer safety program for young drivers. More than 400 Texas teens die every year in traffic crashes, by far the number one killer of young people. Texas A&M Transportation Institute researchers attribute the crashes to … [Read more...] about Cypress Falls students launching new safety program after survey shows pattern of risky driving behaviors