CARSTAR Encourage Teen Drivers around the Country to Put Down the Phone and
Enjoy the Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences
LEAWOOD, KS (March 31, 2015) – Prom and graduation season is here! With it comes the excitement of sharing photos, videos and texts with friends and families. But it also is accompanied by an elevated risk for teen drivers, particularly when they are sharing those photos and texts while driving.
CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts is hoping to help reduce this danger on the road with its national support of the It Can Wait® campaign at CARSTAR collision repair facilities around the country. CARSTAR is teaming up with the National Auto Body Council and others in the collision industry to educate teen drivers about being smarter and safer in the car.
“At CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts, we see firsthand the negative consequences of distracted driving and want to help people reduce their risk of being in an accident,” said Dan Young, senior vice president of Insurance Relations for CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts and Distracted Driving Chairman for the National Auto Body Council. “Through the It Can Wait campaign, we can educate drivers about the dangers of texting and driving, and engage drivers, their families and friends in putting down the phone and focusing on the road.”
Young offers tips for teen drivers for reducing their driving distractions during prom and graduation season:
- Take – and share – your photos and videos before you get in the car
- Designate someone who isn’t driving to manage the GPS
- Have the driver install an app that silences incoming texts and notifications – and lets the sender know that the recipient is behind the wheel
- Consider a car service if the budget allows
A recent study of teen drivers from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that distraction was a factor in nearly 6 out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes, which is four times as many as official estimates based on police reports. Researchers found that drivers manipulating their cell phone (includes calling, texting or other uses), had their eyes off the road for an average of 4.1 out of the final six seconds leading up to a crash. The researchers also measured reaction times in rear-end crashes and found that teen drivers using a cell phone failed to react more than half of the time before the impact, meaning they crashed without braking or steering.
Individuals can sign up at www.ItCanWait.com to get resources that will help them share their commitment on social media and personalize the movement in their communities on key activation days. Aspiring to create a social stigma around this dangerous habit of texting while driving, the campaign focuses on getting individuals involved in taking the pledge to never text and drive while encouraging others in their community to do the same.
The It Can Wait movement is making a difference. One-in-three people who’ve seen the texting while driving message say they’ve changed their driving habits. Together, advocates have raised the awareness of texting while driving to 97 percent or higher in every audience the campaign has polled. To take the pledge and get more information, visit www.ItCanWait.com.
About CARSTAR
CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts is North America’s largest Multi-Shop Operator Network of independently owned collision repair facilities with more than 430 locations in 30 states and 10 Canadian provinces. CARSTAR delivers national scale, consistently high-quality vehicle repairs, repeatable outcomes and the industry’s highest customer satisfaction ratings; all repairs are backed by a national warranty and service guarantee. For more information, visit www.carstar.com.