Report Cards are In: Teens Don't Know Everything about Driving!

The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), in partnership with Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Governors Highway Safety Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police Foundation, National Organizations for Youth Safety, and the National Sheriffs’ Association, is proud to share our dynamic teen driver safety program, IKnowEverything, for National Teen Driver Safety Week (October 19-25, 2014)!

Developed to prepare teens to be safe when they get behind the wheel, IKnowEverything is an integrated effort that highlights the issues of drunk and distracted driving, and reiterates to parents that they have the most influence on their teen’s driving behaviors.

This spring, the IKnowEverything Challenge events tested teen driving safety knowledge among more than 2,000 high school students in urban, suburban and rural communities across the nation. We found that less than half of teens would have received a passing grade.

Teens scored highly on using seat belts and identifying unsafe driving practices:

• 91% know to keep their seat belt fastened and tell others to buckle up.
• Almost 90% can correctly identify distracted driving behaviors.
• 86% know how to drive safely when using a GPS.

Teens had trouble with the following common driving scenarios:

• 67% did not understand how to safely navigate a complicated driving situation.
• 60% didn’t know what to do when a speeding car approached them from behind.
• 35% did not know what to do when an emergency vehicle approaches at a red light.

Some teens still need help in dealing with peer pressure situations:

• 25% do not know how to handle a passenger who is drinking in their car.
• 27% do not know how to safely get home when their driver has been drinking alcohol.
• 38% are not sure how to handle a friend distracting them while driving.

For National Teen Driver Safety Week, we are very proud to welcome the Governors Highway Safety Association as the newest partner for the IKnowEverything program. We will work together to implement the program during National Teen Driver Safety Week in two states and continue to reach many other states over the next year.

Please help us reach parents and teens this National Teen Driver Safety Week:

• Share our brand new infographic, and social media images throughout the week and beyond.
• Encourage parents to watch our video with their teen.
• Join our Twitter Party on Tuesday, October 21st at 9:00PM EDT hosted by Mom It Forward.
• Teens, use our Teen Driver Safety Action Toolkit, developed with FCCLA, to advocate in your community.
• Check out blogs from Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms, Jenny on the Spot, Ask Doctor G, Kiss My List and Momopolize.
• Use new research on distracted driving and teens, sponsored by Responsibility.org and released as a special supplement in the May 2014 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Share what you’re doing with us and we’ll feature you on our blog!