The Daring Dolphins FLL team researched how to improve young driver safety. They visited the UNC Highway Safety Research Center and Cary Police Department to learn about teen driving statistics and initiatives. Research found teen crash rates are much higher than adults and existing solutions lacked feedback tools. The team proposes a mobile app that uses GPS and cameras to provide feedback on speeding, stopping at signs, distractions, and rewards safe driving. The app would need testing, funding, and promotion in schools to be implemented. The solution was shared with research and safety experts.

1. FLL “World class” project presentation
Daring Dolphins (FLL Team # 4627)
Aanvi
Aditi
Naina
Samiya
Sneha
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2. Table of Content
 Question-statement…………………………………………………………………………………………….…3
 Research site visit: UNC Highway Safety Research Center……………………………….….4
 Research site visit: Cary Police Department………………………………………………………….5
 Additional research……………………………………………………………………………………………….6
 Research findings……………………………………………………………………………………………….7, 8
 Research solution……………………………………………………………………………………………………9
 Implementation……………………………………………………………………………………………………10
 Sharing………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11
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3. Question-statement: How could we improve
the way young drivers learn to drive safely?
 We decided on this question-
statement because Sneha’s
brother was learning to drive
and also because we were
concerned by a fatal accident
in our neighborhood involving
teen drivers.
Cary Police Officers Grant Anderson, left, and Brian Ready, right, collect
evidence at an accident scene. According to Cary Police, 3 teenagers were
taken to the hospital after being struck by a dump truck, rear left, on Highway
55 and McCrimmon Parkway in Cary on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 16,
2014.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/09/19/4164998/teen-driver-will-be-
cited-in-cary.html#storylink=cpy
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4. Research site visit: UNC Highway Safety
Research Center
Team met with -
Mr. Arthur Goodwin, Sr. Research Associate
 Mr. Goodwin’s research interests and
experience include young driver safety,
graduated driver licensing (GDL), distracted
driving and cell phones, drinking and driving,
and occupant protection.
 Mr. Goodwin is the creator of “Time to Drive”
app. Time to Drive is the first research-based
iPhone app designed to help parents ensure
their teen gets enough driving practice and the
right kind of practice.
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5. Research site visit: Cary Police Department
Team met with -
Lt. Steve Wilkins, Traffic Safety Team
 Lt. Steve Wilkins helped us understand various
traffic issues, initiatives by Cary PD to address
these issues.
 911 Facility Tour
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6. Additional research
 Teen driver interviews
 We interviewed four teen drivers to understand their learning experience and
challenges.
 Google search
 Statistics on teen driver crashes
 What are the key causes of teen crashes?
 Viewed several videos on YouTube to research current solutions
 Read books to understand the problem
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7. Research findings: Teen driving crash
statistics
 The crash rate for 16-year-olds is 3.7 times higher than drivers of all ages.
 The crash rate for 16 to 19-year-olds is 2.7 times higher than drivers of all
ages
Source:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/dmv_content_en/dmv/teenweb/
more_btn6/traffic/traffic# 7

8. Research findings
 Existing Solutions
 Special Teen driver training for bad weather and obstacles
 Some apps that help log the hours driven with info about hard stops
 What was missing?
 No good way to provide evidence based feedback
 Emotionally driven feedback upsets young drivers and causes more mistakes
 Distraction and over speeding feedback not available
 Use of feedback to reward safe driving
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9. Proposed solution: Improve feedback
using technology
 Our proposed solution is an app that will use technology to provide evidence based
feedback for:
 Speeding - GPS compares posted street speed with car speed and logs violations.
 Running Stop Signs – GPS will determine stop sign intersections; and the app will monitor if
the driver did a complete stop or not.
 Distractions - Installed camera monitors driver head movement to log distractions.
 Motivation and Rewards - Use scoring and rewards to motivate safer driving.
 Feedback Process
 App logs feedback and provides summary
 App scores driving, compares with other drivers in area/school
 Rewards for driving safely
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10. Proposed implementation
 We need to collaborate with people who can develop the app.
 We would need to test this with several young drivers and get it rated by
parents, young drivers and other stakeholders.
 We need to work on securing funding, resources and maybe government's
approval to get our idea implemented.
 We need to promote the app in High Schools and Driving Schools.
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11. Sharing
 We shared our solution with:
 Arthur Goodwin, Sr. Research Associate
 Lt. Steve Wilkins, Traffic Safety Team, Cary Police Department
 Wake County Public Schools Driving Instruction personnel
 Daring Dolphins twitter feed
 SlideShare http://www.slideshare.net/trainglerobotics/young-driver-safety
 YouTube
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