Teens get crash course in 'distracted driving'

By LARRY HARTSTEIN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

How do teen drivers handle distractions like texting, eating, ear-splitting music and rowdy friends in the backseat?

Not very well, judging by the orange cones sent flying Thursday.

Several teens tried to navigate a “Distracted Driving Training Course” outside the Georgia Dome. It was one of 42 events Allstate organized nationwide to show the dangers of distracted driving.

Allstate is a sponsor of the Atlanta Falcons, and team President Rich McKay and his 16-year-old son, John, participated Thursday.

The McKays signed a parent-teen driving contract in which John agreed to certain punishments for speeding, driving without a seatbelt, talking on a cellphone and other violations.

After going through the course several times, John said he learned how difficult it is to drive with distractions.

“They’ve made me text, eat, turn the music all the way up, had people screaming in the car,” John said. “They’ve thrown a lot at me and it’s been tough.”

According to a recent study, 80 percent of all crashes involve driver inattention within three seconds of the accident.

The study also found that reaching, dialing a phone or applying make-up makes a crash three times more likely.