Teens Can Showcase Driving Skills Through Video

So you want to be in pictures?

It’s time for the state Department of Motor Vehicles' annual teen safe driving video contest. The department hopes the contest, and its new Parent-Teen Driving Contract, will help make new drivers, safer drivers.

“We think this is just the right week for community leaders to organize many teams of students to enter the contest and showcase the many unique ways their communities help to make them better drivers, “ said DMV Commissioner Melody A. Currey, said in a statement. “The new parent-teen agreement also gives communities as well as parents and teens a good starting point for discussions about safety.”

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-olds. Distracted driving causes many of those accidents, according to department statistics. There distractions a plenty when driving, from cell phones, music, and friends in the car, to food and drink.

The driver education appears to be having some effect, according to the department. Convictions for cell phone use and distracted driving, speeding, driving under the influence and failure to wear a seatbelt or having more passengers in the car than seat belts, are declining.

In 2009 Connecticut became the first in the United States to require a mandatory two-hour joint safe-driving education program that parents or guardians must attend with their teen. Next session the Transportation Committee plans to tackle legislation to strengthen regulations for commercial driving schools, including those schools train driving instructors.

Since the state imposed stricter teen driving law, crashes, injuries and fatalities have declined, according to the DMV’s Center for Teen Safe Driving.

Crashes declined 28 percent between 2007 to 2009, according to the most recent figures from the state Department of Transportation for crashes in which 16 or 17 year-old drivers’ were determined to be the contributing factor. 

There were nine fatal crashes (regardless of fault) involving a 16- or 17-year-old driver in 2010. That' below an historic 13 per-year from 2005 through 2008, the year the new laws began.

To further educate parents and teens, DMV plans to put safety warnings for parents in its brochure on laws and training for 16- and 17-year-old drivers.

The DMV requires the videos detail community efforts to help prevent crashes, injuries and deaths among 16- and 17-year-olds; the state’s youngest and most inexperienced drivers. The deadline for submitting a video is January 13, 2012.

Travelers will award a total of $15,000 to five top-ranking videos placing in the contest this year. The high schools of the winning contestants receive the cash awards with the stipulation the money be used to design teen safe driving programs.

“We believe it’s a valuable tool that enables teens to speak directly to their peers on the importance of safe driving and how careless driving and heartbreaking accidents can impact their family, school and entire community,” said Doreen Spadorcia, Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer, Claim and Personal Insurance for Travelers.