Brain Development Puts Teens at Extra Distracted Driving Risk

October 07, 2012 (Press-News.org) Distracted driving has been receiving more attention in Colorado and the rest of the nation, as people become more aware of the impact of this dangerous behavior. In the United States, more than 3,000 people died in 2010 in motor vehicle accidents where a distracted driver was involved, according to the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That amounts to about 10 percent of all traffic fatalities. In addition, data shows that about 416,000 people suffered injuries in distracted driving accidents.

Teen Drivers at Higher Risk for Distracted Driving

Studies also reveal that the largest proportion of distracted drivers is drivers under age 20. Several factors likely to contribute to this phenomenon.

A chief cause of driver distraction is cellphone use, especially texting. Text messaging is now ubiquitous: In June 2011, people sent or received more than 196 billion text messages in the United States. That represents a 50 percent increase over the number of text messages sent or received just two years earlier, in June 2009. Alarmingly, some studies found that people under age 25 engage in texting while driving up to three times as much as older drivers.

Cognitive Development a Factor in Driver Distraction

What is not widely known is that distractions for young drivers are more of a problem than for older drivers because of incomplete cognitive development. Regulatory competence, which is a person's ability to adapt and adjust emotions and attention, and to function ably when faced with a challenge, takes time to develop and may not be fully developed in teenagers.

The brain's control center, the prefrontal cortex, is slower to develop than some other parts of the brain. A teen could have a well-developed limbic system, the part of the brain controlling expectation and reward, but typically has an immature prefrontal cortex. Distractions can wreak havoc on the immature driver's ability to handle any stressful driving situations.

The NHTSA has vigorously promoted campaigns to educate people about the danger of distracted driving, especially cellphone use by drivers. A recently enacted transportation law will offer states incentives to establish strong programs to counter distracted driving. One incentive targets the distractibility of youths, requiring states to enact laws that forbid young drivers from using cellphones while driving, except in emergency situations.

Anyone who is injured due to someone else's distracted driving may be able to pursue a personal injury claim against that person or his or her insurance company to recover damages. A damages award could include payment for lost wages and pain and suffering as well as medical costs. An experienced personal injury attorney will offer expert help in recovering what an innocent victim justly deserves.

Article provided by Law Office of James H. Guest, L.L.C.
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