EFFECTIVENESS OF THE "TEENS IN THE DRIVER SEAT PROGRAM" IN TEXAS

The goal of this research project was to assess the effectiveness of the Teens in the Driver Seat (TDS) Program in Texas. The first peer-to-peer driver education and awareness program for teens in the United States, the TDS Program, was deployed at approximately 60 schools in Texas during the course of the 2006-2007 school year. Targeted at fighting the number one killer of teens in America, the program uses peer influence in a positive way by helping teens increase awareness of the most common risks teens face while driving – namely: 1) driving at night; 2) distractions (primarily in the form of other teen passengers and cell phones/texting); 3) speeding; 4) not wearing a seat belt; and 5) alcohol use. Attitudinal surveys, field studies, focus groups, and the TDS Program website statistics were some of the means used to assess the impact of the program. Analyses indicate awareness of the common risks (other than “drinking and driving,” which is already very high) has improved 40 to 200+ percent, while field studies indicate seat belt use is an average of 11 percent higher and cell phone use/texting is 30 percent lower at “program schools” as compared to a control group of schools at which the program has never been deployed. Website traffic for www.t-driver.com has increased over 1,500 percent in the past 18 months, with a current average of 20,000+ hits per month and an average duration of time spent at the site having doubled this year to a current level of eight minutes. Personal interviews indicate the program is popular with teens, and they feel the peer-to-peer approach is productive and serves a number of beneficial purposes for them.