Plenty of dads connected with a car ad that first aired on TV two years ago.
In that 30-second Subaru spot, a father leans in the passenger window of the car, parked in the family’s driveway, and methodically gives his daughter safety reminders just before her first solo drive. He finally hands the keys to his 16-year-old, but in the commercial’s early moments, the girl strapping on her seatbelt as he delivers his pointers looks 6 years old again, in his eyes.
“So, you can see good? Got the mirrors all adjusted, and you can see everything OK? Just stay off the freeways; I don’t want you going out on those yet. Just leave your phone in your purse. I don’t want you texting.” She gets the keys, thanks him, and starts backing out of the driveway. The dad adds, “Call me, but not while you’re driving.”
There’s a better chance the teen will follow those instructions if she’s seen her parents observe those same driving standards.
The youngest drivers often mimic the bad habits of their parents, such as disregarding speed limits, going too fast for the weather conditions, rolling through stop signs, and not wearing seatbelts. Last week, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety issued a report about the upcoming summer driving season. The auto club labeled the Memorial-Day-to-Labor-Day period as “The 100 Deadliest Days” for teen drivers. That heads-up refers to various studies showing that youngsters often emulate the routines, positive or negative, their parents practice while behind the wheel.
Anyone who chokes up when watching that Subaru ad understands why both generations of drivers need to be smart this summer.
For example, in a separate nationwide survey of 1,200 teenagers conducted for AT&T, 41 percent said their parents text while driving. Fifty-three percent said their parents text while stopped at a traffic light. And, 77 percent said they agreed with the statement, “Adults say that kids should not text or email while driving but they do it themselves, all the time.”
They do what they see. Parents, and adults in general, need to remember their influence.
“It’s become a part of their culture, and adults are doing it, too,” said Stan Henderson, a longtime advocate of stronger teen driving laws and a retired Indiana State University associate professor of health and safety.
It is indeed cultural. According to AT&T’s teen driver survey, 90 percent of teens expect a reply to a text within five minutes. They should resist that urge. Drivers who text are 23 times more likely to crash than those who don’t, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded.
Henderson is an expert on safe driving. In addition to his long tenure at ISU, he helped the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration develop national standards for teen driving. In July, he’ll become president of the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association. The teen driving laws in Indiana, toughened in 2009 and 2010 by the Legislature, are adequate, in his opinion. Enforcement is the key.
“We need to stop and get serious about implementing what we have, and get the culture, and the parents, and the kids on the same page — that it’s cool to be safe,” Henderson said.
The “graduated driver licensing” laws work by safely giving teens more road experience before they get full driving privileges. In 2009, Indiana enacted a curfew on night-time driving, and restrictions on passengers and cellphone use for teens, as well as requiring them to get 50 hours of practice time with an adult. In 2010, the state upped the minimum ages for driver licensing.
As a result, the number of serious accidents among teens dropped by about 40 percent in one year, said Sherry Deane, public affairs specialist for AAA in Indianapolis.
The laws mean nothing, though, unless parents honor them. “The parents are really the number 1 enforcer of our teen driving laws,” Deane said. Police can’t monitor who heads out the door of a house with the car keys.
The passenger restriction offers an ideal example. For the first six months with an intermediate license, a teen driver cannot transport any passengers, except an adult 25 years or older riding in the front seat. As Deane tells teens, the law is to protect, not punish, them. The risk of a serious crash doubles with one passenger, triples with two, multiplies five-fold with more. Knowing those statistics, parents should be careful not to let a freshly licensed teen to go “out driving for no real purpose,” Deane said. They need to be headed to an appointed place, at an appointed time. “It’s that out-cruising-around-with-no-real-direction,” she added.
Ideally, the kids should take those drives with a mom, dad or adult family member. Deane said AAA recommends parents supervise their kids through 100 hours of practice time behind the wheel — twice the state requirement. And, when the roles are reversed and the parent drives while the teen rides along, that mother or father should follow their own rules.
Most likely, the teen will mirror those habits, like it or not.
“It’s going to be one of those things where they do as they see, not as you say,” Deane said.
Remember, those teen drivers began taking mental notes years earlier … at about the age of that 6-year-old girl in the Subaru commercial.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.
Mark Bennett Opinion
MARK BENNETT: Roadway Role Models: Adults need to remember habits often rub off on teens
- Mark Bennett Opinion
-
-
Mark Bennett: High-profile mural connects historical dots from city to river
At 96 feet wide and 2 stories tall, the power, impact and value of the Wabash will be evident.
-
MARK BENNETT: Life at face value: Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable daily challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research.
(Unless, of course, your mother is a scientific researcher. If so, carry a No. 2 pencil and take good notes.) -
MARK BENNETT: Should I stay or should I go?
Some have their Bill Clinton-era Cavalier packed (with the trunk bungee-ed shut), apartment cleaned (except for the fridge), and iPhone GPS locked onto the fastest route out of Terre Haute. Others are staying — until they find a better job, or because they’re starting a career here, or because this town feels like home. In each case, a new stage of life begins today.
-
College Class of '13 gets a little extra advice
Local college grads will hear commencement speakers offer life and career advice this month. We’re offering them an extra dose here from folks who’ve found success in various vocations and regions of the nation. Many have Terre Haute roots.
-
MARK BENNETT: Spirited response to a rising river
The power within the Wabash revealed itself last week.
-
MARK BENNETT: Littered with irony: Why do people callously discard their trash, and who are they?
Though they aren’t acknowledged by the U.S. Census Bureau, there are basically two demographic groups of people … Those who would dump their old toilet on the banks of the Wabash River or a rural roadside. And those who wouldn’t.
-
MARK BENNETT: Performing under the radar: Toiling for years behind the scenes, Terre Haute native J.T. Corenflos finally earned a splash of musical recognition
People who diligently work to make others shine are a rare breed.
-
Season of Day 2s arrives
Calendars in Cincinnati contain one extra holiday — Opening Day, traditionally the first Monday in April.
-
MARK BENNETT: Amid tragedy and chaos, the hopeful smiles of youth could not be repressed
The image jars the viewer. On its own, the old photograph appears ordinary. Three smiling kids.
-
MARK BENNETT: A century later, ‘On the Banks of the Wabash’ still rises above Indiana politics
Music and politics share one commonality — people who like a style different from yours are nuts.
-
MARK BENNETT: Digit dialing a thing of the past, but telephoning is still a numbers game
You’ve heard of child prodigies who can play Mozart on piano or perform calculus at the age of 5.
That wasn’t me. -
MARK BENNETT: After years of preparation, 60 immigrants will gather in Terre Haute on March 14 to pledge their allegiance to the United States of America
It will have been a long and difficult road, but it will be an emotional moment when they raise their right hands and begin the oath of citizenship
-
MARK BENNETT: The fall and rise of a ‘Young Titan’
Broken. Humiliated. Discarded. Finished.
Few of us think of Winston Churchill in such bleak terms. -
MARK BENNETT: Trying to keep momentum of acceptance within the community a key part of Jeff Lorick’s job
Second-graders’ eyes and minds function differently.
They see the future unjaded. Their possibilities stand tall, not yet choked by the adult weeds of prejudice and bitterness. -
MARK BENNETT: For Glenda Ritz, being educator, ‘not a politician’ still makes good political sense
Educator, not a politician.
Glenda Ritz emphasizes that distinction about herself. -
MARK BENNETT: Falling short of the big prize will produce lessons nonetheless
This is a day for Roman numerals.
Americans seldom use them. And when we do, humility is not our purpose. -
MARK BENNETT: Forgotten Message: Advice from ‘The Mick’ should be remembered in wake of Lance Armstrong’s troubles
The two comments were almost identical.
-
MARK BENNETT: A sense of Americana constant passenger as iconic Corvette motors through milestone birthday
On my last ride at the wheel of a ’Vette, I was a wide-eyed teenager, guiding my brother’s almost-new, orange 1976 model.
-
MARK BENNETT: Sculptor from North Carolina to capture image of Indiana’s first black state legislator
Well-meaning parents try to instill strong character in their kids.
“Don’t be afraid to stand up for your beliefs,” moms and dads will insist, “even if you stand alone.” -
MARK BENNETT: Heart ailments, avoidable health issues affect high numbers of Vigo residents
Many folks in Vigo County will analyze digits on their bathroom scales this month. After all, January and fitness resolutions are traditional partners.
-
MARK BENNETT: For some people in the Wabash Valley, happy holidays require a little help
Picture yourself as a kid, not yet 5 years old, growing up in a small house in Terre Haute.
-
MARK BENNETT: Beware Ignorance and Want and reap the benefits of early education
Pretend that Charles Dickens is about to become Indiana’s next governor.
-
MARK BENNETT: In spirit of season, calculate your fiscal cliff impact, then argue
Envision “chestnuts roasting on an open fire.”
-
MARK BENNETT: Members of Congress should be free to consider all sides of an issue
Attempting to trump the U.S. Constitution requires some nerve.
-
MARK BENNETT: An unbudging Congress standing on opposing sides accomplishes little
Sausage patties, hugging a scoop of scrambled eggs and a couple slices of toast on a plate, and chased with nearby steaming black coffee.
-
MARK BENNETT: Hoosier voters issue mandate on Bennett’s school reforms
Mike Pence, Mitch Daniels and Indiana legislators should respect the votes of 1,315,026 Hoosiers.
-
MARK BENNETT: Elections, governing would look a lot different if everybody voted
A raffle ticket purchase usually comes with a disclaimer — “you must be present to win.”
-
MARK BENNETT: On Election Day, as Vigo County goes, so goes the United States
Hempstead sounds like a fine place.
-
MARK BENNETT: Upcoming PBS documentary focuses on nation’s voting irregularities, through Hoosier eyes
As America prepares to choose its governmental leaders, voters are being relentlessly asked how much they trust elected officials.
-
MARK BENNETT: Quest for knowledge keeps going as Elliott Gould prepares to speak in Terre Haute
As our conversation began, Elliott Gould was in the midst of learning. He was reading a book.
- More Mark Bennett Opinion Headlines
-
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Raw: Costa Rica Volcano Roars to Life
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
Today in History May 22
Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
