Driving Tips for Teens

Posted on 05/17/2023 by Traffic Safety Team

FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program developed ten short videos with driving tips for teens. A series of brief educational and informative traffic safety messages are available to share for National Teen Driver Safety Week and the 100 Deadliest Days for Teen Drivers – and all year long.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in 2021, Florida teens made up nearly 5 percent of Florida’s driving population. However, more than 11 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in Florida involved a teen driver.

Parents, teachers, and caregivers are a great source of driver education, and we hope they share these videos. The highest percentage of our Traffic Safety Team YouTube channel audience (41.6%) is between the ages of 18 and 24, and an ideal place to help educate teens about speeding, distracted driving, and other road rules.

These road rules apply to drivers of all ages, significantly younger inexperienced motorists. The goal is to reduce crashes and eliminate fatalities and severe injuries on our roadways.

Occupant Protection and Distracted Driving Road Rules:

Buckle Up – It Can Save Your Life

Stop Distractions – Focus on Driving

Safety belts save lives! Buckling up properly is the single, most effective way to protect yourself in a crash. Wear your safety belt across your shoulder and your waist. Front seat drivers and passengers AND backseat passengers under age 18 – MUST wear a safety belt (Florida Law!)

Distracted driving is NOT just from cell phones but also includes: talking to passengers, eating, adjusting the radio, reaching for items in the backseat, putting on cosmetics, and anything that takes your attention away from the roadway. Please put your phone down, and focus on driving! In Florida, texting and driving are not just dangerous; it’s illegal.

Bicycle Safety and Motorcycle Driving Tips for Teens and All Motorists:

Bike Safety for Cyclists and Motorists

Please Always Ride Responsibly

Cyclists, please note: Lighting equipment on your bicycle is required at night. Helmets are required for those under 16 years of age. You are required to have properly working brakes. Always ride on the right-hand shoulder of the road. Do not wear earbuds in both ears. Motorists, this is Florida law: When passing a bike on the roadway, you must give three feet when passing. Please watch for sharrow markings on the road – this means that motorists must share the lane with cyclists.

Many factors can lead to motorcycle crashes – not just inexperienced motorcycle riders and motorists – but careless driving. Left turns in front of motorcycles are the leading reason for a crash – 40% of the time. Always look twice and drive with care. Bikes that are over 50cc require an endorsement on your license – Make sure you get the proper training and wear a helmet!

Pedestrian Safety and Florida’s Move Over Law:

Learn About Pedestrian RRFBs

Move Over and Slow Down

Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) Tips for pedestrians: Activate the signal by pushing the button. Wait for the lights to flash. Step to the curb and wait for traffic to stop. Cross the road while constantly monitoring traffic. And tips for Florida drivers: If you approach an RRFB and the lights are flashing, and a pedestrian is present, you must come to a complete stop at the stop bar. Remain stopped until the pedestrians are across the roadway. You may proceed with caution after the pedestrians have cleared the road.

Drivers, here is what you need to know about the Florida Move Over Law. This law includes police, emergency, service vehicles, Florida Road Rangers, tow trucks, construction, and other utility vehicles that are stopped on the side of the road and displaying flashing yellow, red, or blue lights. On approach, move over one lane. If you cannot safely move over, reduce your speed by at least 20 mph below. Police are cracking down. You might receive a moving violation if you do not abide by this Florida law

Lane Departure and Intersection Traffic Safety Tips:

Lane Departure is a Leading Cause of Fatalities

Traffic Safety at Intersections

Speeding on a curve is one of the leading causes of lane departure crashes. Never accelerate going into a curve! Release acceleration, coast through the curve, then resume acceleration. Chevrons, rumble strips, barriers, and guardrails are all countermeasures to reduce lane departure. Please drive carefully!

In Florida, intersections are among the top 2 locations for serious injury crashes. When approaching an intersection, be aware of driveway accesses, vehicles that suddenly come to a complete stop, and cars that suddenly change lanes in front of you. When stopped at a red light, check for pedestrians. Yield to pedestrians and bicyclists before turning right. When you see the flashing yellow arrow, yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.

School Bus and Railroad Crossing Safety Reminders:

Stop for School Buses

Railroad Crossing Safety Tips

Here are some important railroad crossing tips to keep in mind: Do not drive through, around, or under a railroad crossing gate. Never stop on the tracks. Stay back at least 15 feet from the track. Walking or stopping on the tracks is hazardous.

When the yellow lights begin to flash on a school bus, it is coming to a stop to load or unload students; you must stop and do not pass the bus. Remain stopped until the stop panels are retracted, the door is closed, and the bus begins to proceed. The only time you are not required to stop for a school bus is if you are in the opposing lanes of the bus on a roadway with a raised median or physical barrier of at least five feet or more.

100 Deadliest Days for Teen Drivers

The “100 Deadliest Days” is the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when fatal teen crashes increase dramatically. Nationwide over 7,000 people died in teen-related crashes from 2010–2019 during this summer period.

Teens drivers have a higher rate of fatal crashes, due to immaturity, lack of skills, and lack of experience. Teenagers speed, they make mistakes, they wear their safety belts less often, and they get distracted easily – especially if their friends are in the car.

For more information on FDOT Teen Driver Safety and related programs and grants, visit the Safety Office Teen Driver Safety page. Visit the Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalitions’ 100 Deadliest Days for Teen Driver’s Page for more.

Other Important Reminders for Teen Drivers:

Reduce the number of passengers
Lower music volume
Use turn signals
Limit driving at dark
Obey the speed limit
Stop at stop signs and traffic lights
Share the road

According to Safe Kids Worldwide, more than half of teens killed in crashes were not wearing a safety seat belt. We cannot say this enough, please always buckle up for every car ride!

Links to Additional Resources and Driving Tips for Teens:

Teen Drivers Speeding with Northeast Florida Statistics
Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition
FDOT – Teen Driver Safety
The 100 Deadliest Days for Teen Drivers
GHSA report – Teens and Speeding: Breaking the Deadly Cycle
FLHSMV Teen Driver Safety – Driving is a Privilege – Don’t Lose it
FDOT State Safety Office – Speeding and Aggressive Driving

Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2021

Posted on 09/01/2021 by Traffic Safety Team

FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program News and Information

We are excited to present Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2021. Click here to download the Summer 2021 edition of Traffic Safety Talk.

Staying Positive and Engaged

The landscape of the FDOT District Two CTSP has changed over the past year, but we continue to expand awareness of traffic safety issues and solve local traffic safety concerns. We focused on reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our roadways. CTSP does this through engineering, education, enforcement, emergency medical services. We also provide resources on our website, with new blogposts and on our social media channels. Just under 45,000 emails, not including CTST meeting invitations, were sent to team members and community partners to help stay connected and share important traffic safety information, tips, and strategies.
– Andrea Atran, M.A., CPM
FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program Manager

Virtual Meetings + Engineering Concerns

In May, Andrea Atran presented to the WTS (Women in Transportation) Northeast Florida Chapter. She covered topics including our program history, Strategic Highway Safety Plan, local data, engineering concerns, resources available and virtual volunteering opportunities. Over the past year, we held 73 virtual CTST meetings with a total of 929 attendees and 49 new members. By going virtual, we reduced paper consumption and waste. This simple act of green saved over 30,500 sheets of paper during the past year. While virtual meetings have not been ideal for everyone, some Teams have used this as an opportunity to grow and for members to attend who would not have been able to in-person. We are proud to say our Teams followed 298 engineering concerns, received 108 new concerns, and closed 111 issues since last summer.

Buckle Up Banners About Town

By now you have probably seen some of the occupant protection banners displayed around Northeast Florida. We distributed 2,009 banners and 1,714 posters and surpassed 43,622 social media impressions/views with our Buckle Up campaign. The images are available digitally, which includes social media graphics to download and share for free.

Countermeasures That Work

Our FDOT District Two CTSP created an educational series of cost effective safety engineering countermeasures that help reduce intersection, lane departure, and pedestrian/bicyclist crashes. The traffic safety strategies and treatments are based on proven measures of effectiveness by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). These countermeasures reduce serious injury and fatal crashes on our roadways. These were very popular across our social media platforms with almost 35,000 impressions. All three categories of countermeasures are posted on our website for viewing and sharing.

LANE DEPARTURE COUNTERMEASURES help prevent running off the road, crossing the center median into an oncoming lane of traffic, and sideswipe crashes.
INTERSECTION COUNTERMEASURES incorporate roadway design, signage, traffic control devices, lighting, and other safety measures to help reduce crashes.
PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLIST COUNTERMEASURES use strategies and treatments of roadway markings, configurations, and traffic lights to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes by slowing traffic, allowing more space and safe areas for walkers and cyclists.

New Flashback FAQ Series

Take a step back in time with us! From our video vault archive, we produced a new CTSP video series. Our Flashback FAQs showcase some timeless Traffic Safety Team talk. After more than 20 years, these clips provide insight into the essence of the CTSP in Northeast Florida that still apply today.

The Flashback FAQs are featured on our social media pages. The Flashback FAQs answer some common questions we receive, like: What is the Community Traffic Safety Program?, Who are the members of a CTST?, What is the WHALE Check Program?, and How does CTST solve issues?

Wise Words for Traffic Safety

This year we re-purposed artwork from a previous series we created into a fresh new Wise Words safety campaign. Grace Wilhelm with Duval Schools, submitted new Wise Words idea, Be Wise – Use Your Eyes, which we added with an eye-catching owl driver graphic. Just since January, there have been 7,969 Wise Words views and engagements on our social media platforms.

Click here to view the complete newsletter which also includes how the Celebrate Safely program shifted since COVID-19, traffic safety materials distributed, and some of your favorite Community Traffic Safety Team messages.

Summer Celebrate Safely

Posted on 07/29/2020 by Traffic Safety Team

The Florida Department of Transportation’s District Two Community Traffic Safety Program created a new summer edition of “Recipes for the Road.” This double-sided card has simple safety messages along with delicious, non-alcoholic “mocktail” drink recipes, heart-healthy recipes, and an appetizer recipe. Our goal is to promote positive driving behaviors all year long and reduce the number of impaired driving crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our roadways.

We have these Summer Celebrate Safely “Recipes for the Road” cards printed as double-sided, 5.5″ x 8.5″ handouts in full-color. They are available for our Northeast Florida Traffic Safety Team members, partners, organizations, and our local communities. If you have a place for distribution, click here for the ORDER FORM.

Last year, there was almost 2,000 reported crashes with 109 fatalities involving impaired driving throughout the Northeast Florida district. That is 109 deaths that could have been prevented. This summer, and throughout the year, remember to always celebrate safely!

Please help spread the message of celebrating safely with these cool, summer “Recipes for the Road”. Download and share these traffic safety tips and recipes. Don’t forget to tag us @trafficsafetyteam on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, or @trafficsafetyfl on Twitter and Pinterest. Hashtag #celebratesafely #trafficsafetyteam