Comp 2012

Editor's Notes

• #3: My name is SPEAKERS NAME. I'm a SPEAKERS PROFESSION and LOCAL CONNECTION. The first thing I want to say is that I don’t believe that distracted driving is mostly a teen driver problem—I see plenty of parents, teachers, and other adults driving distracted all the time. When I hear that this is a teen problem that gets me angry. It may get you angry also. It’s just not true. Distracted Driving is everyone’s problem, and I think that teens can help solve it. I think teens are more likely to listen and consider driving safer than most of their parents that I speak with. I also know that some of you may be scared about the chances your parents take when they drive, so we are going to talk about how you can talk with your parents and get them to drive safer.Secondly—I never liked it when I was in school and speakers would come in and tell me what to do—I bet you don’t like that either. As a matter of fact I still don’t like that. I am not going to tell you what to do. It’s your choice. You know how to make good decisions and I think you can make the right decision for yourselves. So today when we talk about distracted driving, I know I will learn some things from you, and I hope you will learn some things from me. We all need to work together to help figure out how all of us can be safer.
• #4: So, when I first heard about this presentation, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what Distracted Driving was all about. We've all seen the news or heard a story. Somebody is texting back and forth with a friend and suddenly... there's a near miss or a crash or someone is hurt or killed. And we blame it on Distracted Driving.Anybody watch the TV show, Glee? A couple of months ago they had a cliff-hanger episode where one of the characters, Quinn, is driving down the road, running late, texting with a friend and then–what happens? She’s hit – the screen goes black. You won’t find out until next season. And that’s what most people think of when they think of Distracted Driving.But what I learned – and what I'm here to share with you – actually surprised me. Because Distracted Driving is about a lot more than just texting and driving. So what is Distracted Driving?
• #5: One definition is – Distracted Driving is driving while engaged in any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. (SOURCE: Distraction.gov / NHTSA)So, not just texting. Not just making calls on a cell phone. "Any" activity the diverts a driver's attention away from the task of driving is Distracted Driving. And I think that makes sense, right?
• #6: So what are some other ways a driver can be distracted? We talked about texting and using a cell phone or smart phone. What else?[AUDIENCE RESPONSE][NOTE: Click on the center of the screen to reveal DISTRACTIONS]So one list, and it's not the whole list, could include things like:TextingUsing a cell phone or smartphoneEating and drinkingTalking to passengersGroomingReading, including mapsUsing a navigation systemWatching a videoAdjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 playerAnd ANYTHING else that takes a driver away from their primary task, which is....?(AUDIENCE --- "Driving")Driving. A driver's primary task is to drive.
• #7: There are 3 main types of distraction. Manual, visual and cognitive. You need to change the radio. You reach for the dial – manual distraction. [NOTE: Click on center of screen to highlight MANUAL DISTRACTION]You look down to see what station you're tuning in – visual distraction. [NOTE: Click on center of screen to highlight VISUAL DISTRACTION]You think about what kind of music is playing or what kind of music you'd like to be playing – cognitive distraction. [NOTE: Click on center of screen to highlight COGNITIVE DISTRACTION]All in one act.And that's why texting is such a dangerous distraction – because it requires a significant amount of your attention in all three categories. You have to type. You have to look at the screen. You have to think about what you want to say. Your mind has to tell your fingers what to type, etc.
• #8: So here's a guy driving a city bus. And a passenger is taping this.[NOTE: Click on center of screen to PLAY VIDEO]So what did you see? This was a complete mess, right? An accident waiting to happen. And hopefully this guy got retrained or they found him a new job. But let's learn from this example and break some of this down.
• #9: Here is the next mug shot of this driver. What is he looking at in this photo? Is he looking at the road? So what kind of distraction is happening? Does any one know the name of this type of distraction?[NOTE: If the audience doesn’t give it to you, this is a “visual distraction” because he's having to read what he's writing down and where to write it, etc.]What are other distractions where a driver may take their eyes off the road?Other types of visual distractions would be looking at a map, programming a GPS, looking at a passenger instead of the road...
• #10: Here is the next mug shot of this driver. What is he looking at in this photo? Is he looking at the road? So what kind of distraction is happening? Does any one know the name of this type of distraction?[NOTE: If the audience doesn’t give it to you, this is a “visual distraction” because he's having to read what he's writing down and where to write it, etc.]What are other distractions where a driver may take their eyes off the road?Other types of visual distractions would be looking at a map, programming a GPS, looking at a passenger instead of the road...
• #11: And this part – we can't see, but I think we can guess. If you're busy filling out a form – at least a little bit of your attention has to be on what you're doing, right? I think that's a reasonable deduction, that at least some of this driver's focus is off the road and on the paperwork he's filling out, instead. And what kind of distraction is that? [NOTE: If the audience doesn’t give it to you, this is a “cognitive distraction” or brain distraction because his mind is not on his driving.]And you can see that in just this one activity – all three categories of distractions are happening at once. And actually that happens a lot.
• #12: And so the question is – Who drives like this? This bus driver we just saw is crazy, right? A bus full of people. His job is to drive the bus. And he's filling out a form.But think about all the drivers around you. What's their job? Driving, right? If you're in a car, behind the wheel, any driver's job is driving. But when you go out on the road, you see a lot of other stuff going on, don't you?
• #13: [NOTE:This is where we own up to driving distracted ourselves and taking chances. This is where we set an example of admitting that we were not safe drivers, that we were wrong to drive distracted, and that we needed to change our driving habits and model that behavior for the students. IMPORTANT -- Speakers must make It clear that they have changed the way they drive so as to not look hypocritical. ]Yes I have eaten while driving, programmed my GPS while driving and dialed my cell phone. I had a few close calls but was lucky and was never in an accident—but I should know better than to take chances. Why? I am a lawyer and I represent families who have had loved ones killed because of distracted driving [NOTE: or other personal story of the consequences of dangerous behavioryou've seen or experienced]. I saw situations where texting, talking on cell phones and eating while driving caused accidents but I thought I was different. I thought it could not happen to me.Do you think that my unsafe driving, my risk taking was somehow safer than other peoples risk taking? Was I being a safe driver or was I just lucky?I changed the way I drive because it is that important.
• #14: What about your parents—Parents are role models for their kids and are supposed to be an example of what to do but how many of yourparents have driven distracted with you in the car? [NOTE: RAISE HAND to demonstrate that you, too, have not been the best role model.]How were your parents distracted when driving you? Texting? Dialing a cell phone? Eating? How about turning around and yelling at you in the backseat?Why would your parents drive distracted with you in the car? It’s not because they don’t care about you, but it may be because they think they can multi-task while driving and not get in an accident. Why? It may be because they have not been in an accident yet.  Just like me. And I also drove distracted with my kids in the car. [NOTE: or other personal story]So parents are not the safest drivers. Would you like to be able to show your parents how they can drive safer? So instead of your parents being the ones who seem to know what is right and what is wrong you can be the ones who can be the role model for them? I bet some of you like that idea don’t you?
• #15: What about friends? You‘re on the way to school or to the mall or to a game. You grab a ride with a friends and suddenly... [NOTE: Click on center of screen for IMAGE]this happens. In this photo you see this young lady puts on makeup and drives through traffic.Anybody ever been in the car when this happens? What have you seen as far as friends driving  distracted? [AUDIENCE RESPONSE OR PROMPT – "Text", "Cell", "Eating", "Radio", etc.]
• #16: What about each of you? If you’re a driver raise your hand.[RAISE HAND]Great. You can put them back down. Now raise your hands if, when you’re driving, you ever…Call and order foodEat while drivingUse a cell phone for texting or making callsLook around for things, adjust music , change CD’sThanks for being honest. Anyone think that they can drive just as safely when they are doing these things?
• #17: So, why do we use or cell phones for calling or texting while driving?To stay in touch with friends and family-we want to know what’s going on when it happens, right?To order food or to eat food. Does it seem like when you are driving you are wasting your time if you are not doing something else? Like applying make up? Any other reasons?[AUDIENCE RESPONSE]Most of these are based on the idea – we should be able to do multiple things when we're driving. We all will have to decide whether we want to take risks when driving, whether it could even be worth the risk of killing ourselves or a friend because we wanted to be more efficient when driving.
• #18: We talked about how lots of people drive distracted—they are not 100% focused on driving. Can we safely do more than 1 thing at a time?  Let’s see if we can and maybe get an idea of why we need to focus only on driving.[AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION EVENT - COGNITIVE DISTRACTION EXERCISE][NOTE: Speakers, to conduct this exercise, you'll need:][4 Students (2 with cell phones)] [1 Dry-Erase Board (or Chalk Board)][Markers (and/or Chalk)]I'llneed 4 students. Twoof them will need to have cell phones and each other’s numbers programmed into their cell phones. For these two – one of you will be at the blackboard and one will go [Name Location: into the hallway / to the far side of the auditorium, etc.]with this list of questions. When I tell you to start, the one we have sent out will call his friend with the cell phone, and they're going to be up here helping meme at the board. Another student will hold the cell phone of the student at the board up to his ear so he can hear his or her friend speaking. I don’t want to put it on speaker so the rest of us won’t hear it but I want the one at the board to be hands free. So that is 3 of the 4 students – One calls, the second holds the phone, the third listens while writing on the board. The 4th student will also go to the board. The ones at the blackboard will count backwards from 100—100, 99, 98, 97, 96, etc. and write the numbers on the board—one will be listening and speaking on the cell phone and the other will not. Let’s see how they do.Ok start the phone conversation. Can you hear each other ok? All right now both of you start writing and counting backwards.[NOTE:Activity Instructions: After awhile you can stop them and normally the “unimpaired student” will do the task faster and more accurately.]So maybe having a cell phone conversation can affect your concentration while driving  even if you are hands free?  They have actually studied this… [NOTE: An alternative exercisewould be to have about 20 traffic safety cones and set them up on the stage so that when one walks through them they have to turn sharply-have a student do it first time while texting and then without texting.]
• #19: Does anybody know the answer to this question? What is the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration for safe driving?[NOTE: Click on center of screen for the CORRECT ANSWER (".08")]We all know that alcohol delays our perception and reaction times. What does it mean to delay our perception time? [AUDIENCE RESPONSE]That’s right we don’t see and appreciate what is in front of us as quickly. Now think about distracted driving—if you’re a distracted driver and you’re looking down for 3 or 4 seconds to read an e-mail or text or look at a road map, isn’t that going to delay your ability to see and appreciate what might be in front of us?So you could say that there are similarities between distracted driving and drunk driving. Now that’s just taking your eyes off the road. What about just having a cell phone conversation or texting? We saw in our example that it’s tough for us - our minds – to concentrate on two things at once.University of Utah researcher David Strayer has been studying distracted drivers for 10 years. David's research found that talking on a cell phone quadruples your risk of an accident. That means that talking on the cell phone is about the same as driving drunk in terms of distractions. If you’re texting and driving the risk is twice as much.
• #20: I bet not too many of you would even thing about driving while you were drunk. But think about that the next time you are a passenger in a car with a driver talking on their cell phone or if you are tempted to talk on your cell phone while driving --4x the crash risk for just talking and 8x the crash risk for texting. [NOTE: Click on center of screen for GRAPHIC]Why do you think the crash risk is so much higher for texting?[AUDIENCE RESPONSE]
• #21: Well, we know that sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds... almost 5 seconds. If you are driving 55 miles per hour, how farwill you travel in about 5 seconds? 100 inches, 100 feet, 100 yards or 100 car lengths?[AUDIENCE RESPONSE][NOTE: Click on center of screen for the CORRECT ANSWER ("100 yards")]Here's the answer:Texting and driving takes your eyes off the road for an average of 5 seconds. At 55 MPH that is like driving the length of a football field blind. That’s nuts. [NOTE: Conversion = For every 10 MPH of speed, car travels 15 ft per second]
• #22: [NOTE: Click on center of screen to PLAY VIDEO]Who would look away from the game so long?  Driving  while looking away is just as dangerous.
• #23: We have talked about driving and texting—What can happen if you call or text someone who is driving so they are distracted?
• #24: In this video, the sister sends a texts and her sister dies when reading it.[NOTE: Click on center of screen to PLAY VIDEO]
• #25: Who is responsible for her death? The speaker feels she is responsible for her sister's death—should she? How would you feel if you were in this situation?[NOTE: These questions prompt very good discussion, and it does not matter who the students think was responsible.]
• #26: Have you ever been scared as a passenger when a parent, brother or sister multi-tasks while driving? What scared you the most?[AUDIENCE RESPONSE]How about with a friend driving?[AUDIENCE RESPONSE]
• #27: [NOTE: Click on center of screen to PLAY VIDEO]In this video, who is the distracted driver thinking of? He doesn’t seem to be concerned for the passengers, does he? Maybe he only cares for himself? What do we call people who are only concerned for themselves?[NOTE:We are trying to get the teens to volunteer that distracted driving is selfish driving-selfish towards passengers and also strangers in other cars.]Does the driver think that what he is doing, changing the radio station, is more important than his passengers safety. What could the passengersdo? Could one volunteer to change the radio station?[AUDIENCE RESPONSE]
• #28: I bet it would not be easy to ask your driver to drive safer. But what could happen if you don’t? Do you want to be nice or safe?  What do you think they could say in response? What would you be afraid that they would say? It can be pretty uncomfortable to ask someone who is helping you out to stop texting or eating. What could you say?  Stop texting? Offer to take the phone and make the call, or answer the text? I can’t drive with you again if you drive like this.[AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION EVENT – SPEAKING UP FOR SAFETY]Let’s see if we can do that right now.  I am the distracted driver—what would you say to me if I was driving you and I started texting and looking away from the road? Let’s hear it. Now let’s practice with someone next to you. Turn the to the person next to you...[NOTE: Give the audience time to voice each of the following statements.] Ask them to put down the cell phone Ask them if you can make that call or text for them Tell them you don’t want to be in an accidentWhat else could you say?[AUDIENCE RESPONDS][NOTE:Speaker to elicit all the possible reactions, beyond just annoyed, but also driver could be embarrassed, be grateful that his or her friend cared about them or possibly relief that they can concentrate on their driving because the friend/passenger will now be calling or texting for the driver.][IMPORTANT -- Use these student-generated responses later when we build the “Simple Steps” to reinforce what they said as opposed to what the speaker fed them.]
• #29: A little while ago, some of you said that you used your cell phones while driving. What would your reaction be if a friend said something to you about stopping your distracted driving/about not using your cell phone while driving?So if your friend asked you not to text or call when driving, or volunteered to do it for you, would you think that maybe they care about your safety? Might even be a relief not to have to take a chance to do it yourself if your passenger volunteered to do it for you.So you may be feeling scared of getting in an accident, and they might feel embarrassed, annoyed, grateful or even happy that you spoke up? What I am asking you to think about, today, is how to balance your feelings of not wanting to get into an accident with how the driver might feel. But I want you to add to that the fact that by asking them to drive safer, you're not only showing that you don't want to be in an accident but also that you don't want them to get hurt either. Does that make sense? And doesn't that show that, really, you care about your friend?It may not be easy to do this. But it will be easier because you've done it here. Remember -- you should not have to feel scared for your safety while riding in someone else's car.
• #30: The next video shows some of the consequences of texting. It shows how being un unsafe driver effects others. [NOTE: Click on center of screen to PLAY VIDEO]We talked about being selfish before. What about this driver who killed a bicyclist because he wanted to text? How would you describe him? Do you think that drivers who do not drive distracted care more about others?[AUDIENCE RESPONDS]Do you think that there is an element of selfishness with all distracted driving? Why?[AUDIENCE RESPONDS]
• #31: We moved past this kind of quickly before, but I'd like to go back and talk a little bit more about why all of this matters. Why is Distracted Driving a problem? What are some of the consequences – or results – of Distracted Driving?[AUDIENCE RESPONDS or PROMPT from the list below]So some of the consequences could include: Injuries Death People lose loved ones Property damage Liability Prison
• #32: Injuries can sometimes last a lifetime and there's suffering that goes along with that. But death is final. In these cases loved ones are gone. There are no more visits. No more chances to say, "I love you." No more opportunities to share graduations or new jobs or marriages or children.Anyone know the number of deaths. that occur every year because of Distracted Driving?[AUDIENCE RESPONDS]More than 5,500. Think about the number. 5500 deaths. About 400 a month. A little less than 100 a week.Take a look around the room. In the audience today, we have about [NUMBER OF AUDIENCE MEMBERS].Distracted Driving in the United States* kills the same number of people that are in the audience, today, in [NOTE: "a single week" or "a single month" or in "X" weeks/months].[NOTE - The following 4 faces and brief stories can be changed if there is a local story that the speaker would like to add]
• #33: At the beginning of this talk, I told you about a accident While stationed in Germany. [NOTE: Click on center of screen to PLAY VIDEO]
• #34: How many drivers do we have in the room? [RAISE HAND]Every day, every single one of us who drives a car or a motorcycle, an SUV – any kind of motorized vehicle – gets up and makes a choice. I want to talk about that choice. Because I can't make it for you. And you can't make it for me. Nobody can make this choice for somebody else. Every driver has to make this choice for themselves.So what's the choice?When I drive, am I going to drive distracted? Or -- Am I going to let others drive me when they are distracted?Now after all these stories and all of these statistics, it's easy to say, "No way! I'm never going to drive distracted, again." But I'm going to tell you, it's not that easy. Because while this is a very simple question to ask, it is a very, very difficult question to answer. And if you decide not to drive distracted or ride with someone who drives distracted – it's hard to live that out.
• #35: So, what steps can we think about taking so we are safer and our parents are safer drivers?We have talked about how easy it is to be distracted. Some of you offered solutions to be safer-not just for yourself but for your entire family. We talked about how distracted driving is selfish driving and I think you don’t want to be seen as selfish.  Let’s see if we can bring this all together and decide what you want to do when you are driving or when you are a passenger. [AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION EVENT – SIMPLE STEPS TO SAFETY][NOTE: Speakers, to conduct this exercise, you'll need:][Copies of the "Simple Steps" document to share with your audience][Someone to help distribute these.][NOTE: The audience will already have the Simple Steps document. You need to arrange with staff at the school (or other group) to distribute these to the teens so they can go over it and check off boxes as you go through the steps in the next few slides.]
• #36: I’m going to show you a list of what we call, “Simple Steps.” It’s a checklist of some very basic things that you can do to avoid being a Distracted Driver. You’ve got this same list on a sheet in front of you. As we read through these steps, you can decide if this is something that you can commit to doing. If so – check the box.[NOTE: Click on center of screen to ADVANCE THRU CHECKLIST]
• #37: Okay – last items on the list.[NOTE: Click on center of screen to ADVANCE THRU CHECKLIST]Makeup. Grooming. Reaching for something in the car.Can this wait?If you know your friend is driving don’t text or call them.Why not? None of us would want to feel responsible for our friend’s death like the sister we saw would we?Speaking up for your safety.If your driver starts driving dangerously you can feel more comfortable asking them to be safer or offering to make calls or texts for them, right? That is something we all need to do.Selfish driving.Does anybody here want to be a selfish driver? Do you want your friends or parents to be selfish drivers when you are in the car with them? Simple steps. But those simple steps save lives.[NOTE - Speakers can also arrange with the school to offer a gift certificate for the lucky winner family drawn from copies of the agreements returned to the school with the student and parents’ signatures.]
• #38: So, you are now the experts. You most likely know more than your parents and brothers and sisters at home. And now, you can share what you know. You can talk with them or other friends, family, or neighbors. There will be lots of people who haven't seen this presentation but need to hear.Remember, Distracted driving is not just a teen problem. We know thatyou know that. But now you know how to solve that problem. Friends don’t let their friend drive distracted. Kids should not let their parents drive distracted. You can now choose the type of driver you want to be. Bring these steps home and have everyone in the family read through and sign this document. Keep it someplace where the wholefamily sees it everyday.You can help save lives.Thanks for letting me be here, today.