A simple slide show to explain one reason why distracted driving can be deadly.

1. What Will You Teach Them About:
Braking Distance
Time
&
Speed

2. FIRST: Do you really know just how fast you are really
going, in feet-per-second?
A simple method, that is fairly accurate, is to add ½ of your
speed to the speed itself, with the resulting sum equaling your
speed in feet-per-second.
If you are driving at 50 mph, for example, the formula:
S + ½ S = S (fps),
would translate to the Speed (50) + ½ S (25) = 75 fps. (For those
of you with a calculator, you can multiply your speed by
1.467, and get 73.35 fps)
This means that, if you look down to simply answer your cell
phone, or change a radio station, for only one second, you
have, literally, traveled 75 feet “blind”. Yet you do it willingly, and
without thought; (although I think you would call me many
unkind names if I reached up and held my hands over your eyes
for that SAME one second!)

3. Here’s a really simple chart to show you this speed
conversion a little more easily.

4. SECOND: Do you know how long it takes for the car
brakes to stop the car?
Another simple formula for basic braking distance is:
(Speed * 1/10 Speed) / 2 = Stopping Distance in feet
EXAMPLE: at 50 mph; (50 * 5) /2 = (250) /2 = 125 feet
Keep in mind that this is ONLY the efficiency of the brakes. The
driver has to be efficient also. Studies have shown that, on
average, it takes from ¾ to 1 ¼ second for a driver to react to any
particular danger (see it, remove foot from gas, apply brake)
BEFORE the car’s brakes get a chance to actually stop the car.
Using an average of 1 second reaction time, at 50 mph, the driver
will travel about 75 feet before he touches the brake pedal. Add
that to the 125 feet of stopping distance, and the TOTAL
stopping distance would be 200 feet!

5. Of course, the 200 feet distance assumes the driver is
actually paying attention!
ADD another 75 feet if he is distracted by the ringing cell phone for just
1 second;
ADD another 150 feet if she turns around to check the baby in the back seat
for 2 seconds;
ADD another 225 feet if the driver is distracted by changing the radio, or a
CD, for 3 seconds;
.
It all ADDS up to increased stopping
distance…which can be deadly

6. This chart uses an average reaction time of ¾
second, but you’ll see the overall distances are about
the same.

7. Speed, distractions and stopping, individually, don’t
usually cause fatal or injury collisions.
Don’t rely on simple platitudes, like “SPEED
KILLS”, when teaching your child to drive. They
know, as well as you and I, that IF speed kills, there
would be no race car drivers or astronauts.
However, when speed is ADDED to the task of
driving, along with distractions, uncertainty and
inexperience in control and danger recognition, a very
deadly “cocktail” of ingredients can be the result.
On the next slide, we can see a simple example of this
concept.

8. VODKA – 1 shot is relatively harmless
TEQUILA - 1 shot is relatively harmless
RUM - 1 shot is relatively harmless
GIN - 1 shot is relatively harmless
TRIPLE SEC - 1 shot is relatively harmless
COCA-COLA – relatively harmless
Individually, these alcoholic drinks are “relatively” harmless. But, what
happens if we put them all into ONE glass, mix them up, and call it a:
Long Island
Iced Tea

9. Similarly, driving is not a simple “one-thing” event; like
the Long Island Ice Tea, it is a cocktail of events, that
MUST be carefully managed.
PERCEPTION – staying focused and identifying potential dangers
COGNITIVE – thinking about what to do, when to do it, and how to do it
best
MANUAL – the physical aspect of driving; steering, pedals, shifting
AUDITORY– listening for horns, barking, yelling, etc. that may warn of
danger
VISUAL – examining the driving environment for safety, traffic, and path of
travel
When mixed together, these ingredients create a safer driver, a more aware
driver, and a driver who is ready to react to his or her driving environment.
Isn’t that EXACTLY what you want your teen driver to
become?

10. Teach them facts, not opinions; realities, not
dreams. Let them know that, while driving is one
of the most dangerous things they will ever do, it
CAN be managed safely, but only if it is treated
as a TASK that needs to be accomplished with
FOCUS and determination.
In other programs, we will be covering, or have
already covered, the dangerous aspect of driving
and what to do about it.