15

15-mins Oral Presentation

By Rebecca Chung

March 22, 2001

Useful Links

I will be presenting talking roads organization today. Their web address is http://talkingroads.org/index1.html . This site contains interesting highway safety facts, data and research, especially concerning the needs of older drivers.

First I went to the State D.O.T. (which stands for department of transportation) their web address is on the board. Hawaii department of transportation was formed shortly after Hawaii became a state in 1959. they provide a safe, efficient, accessible, and inter-modal transportation system that ensures the mobility of people and goods, and enhances and preserves economic prosperity and the quality of life. Department of transportation is responsible to plan, design, operate, and maintain state facilities in all modes of transportation, including air, water, and land. The department currently provides, operates, and maintains 11 commercial service airports, 4 general aviation airports, 9 commercial harbors and 2,450 lane miles of highway.

This year they are carrying out 9 major maintenance and construction projects in the H-1 Freeway Corridor from Punchbowl St. to West Hind Drive. These projects range from resurfacing, to the reinforcement of freeway support columns to bring them up to current earthquake standards, to replacing aging water lines and building an additional lane for the Punahou off-ramp. It has been 15 years since they did any major work in H-1 and heavy maintenance and upgrades are needed. The work will continue through 2002 and will help make this thoroughfare safer for the 182,000 commuters who utilize it daily. It will also comply with federal highway safely standards. Approximately $58 million will be spent on these improvements. Although it will take a lot of money and time to improve H-1, I am please w/ the project, because I can already feel the difference when I drive H-1 way to school. It much more smoother than before and makes the trips more pleasant. Also I was glad to find out that they are preparing for the earthquake, because I’ve been little worried about it since I heard about the earthquakes in India and Seattle.

They are working w/ legislators, the city, neighborhood board representatives, the transportation industry, contractors and others to determine the best way to accomplish the work in the shortest amount of time, and w/ the least inconvenience to both motorists and residents.

Next, I went to public affairs in DOT and looked up an information on driver education. Hawaii’s new mandatory driver education program for persons under the age of 18 wishing to obtain a class 1,2, or 3 driver’s license went into effect on Jan. 1, 2001. the new law requires that persons under 18 shall provide proof that the person has completed a driver’s education program and a behind-the-wheel driver training course certified by the director of transportation before receiving a driving license. A driver education student completion certificate will be given to a student who has successfully completed all requirements for a driver education course through, either 30 hours of classroom instruction or an on-line or internet course certified by the department. A behind the wheel student completion certificate will be given to a student who has successfully completed all requirements for a behind the wheel driving course or a certified driving simulator curriculum. The new law also increased the age to be eligible for an instruction permit to 15years and 6months, and a driver’s license to 16 years. Persons under 18 holding instruction permits on Jan, 1, 2001 were subject to the new driver education requirements to receive a driving license. However persons under 18 holding driving licenses on Jan, 1, 2001 were not subject to the driver education requirements.

Why did they make driver education mandatory?

Hawaii’s youngest drivers are involved in more crashes than any other age group. Over the past 14 years, 1986-1999, drivers between the ages of 15 and 25 have accounted for 20% of all fatalities in the state. The next two highest age groups were 31-40 and 65 and over, they were both accounted for15%.

The primary factors contributing to the teen crashes in Hawaii were failure to yield, 35%, speeding, 30%, and following too closely, 23%. These factors were more than double, those same factors for all other drivers in Hawaii crashes during the same 14 year period. Inattentive driving and misjudgment were the human factors that caused 91% of the teen crashes over the past 14 years. Teens 15-18 rated significantly higher in these two factors than did all other drivers (72%) in Hawaii crashes during the same period.

Although teens may have learned the traffic laws to pass the written test and the basic skills to pass a road test to get their license, the statistics show that Hawaii’s new drivers lack appropriate training and experience and are therefore over represented in all crash statistics. Their inexperience is magnified when they drive w/ friends in their car and fail to concentrate on their driving, don’t wear belts, or drink and drive.

Fewer than 20% of teen drivers have taken any type of formal driver education program over the past 14 years. This includes me since I took driving lesson from my dad for 5 days before taking the test, which I passed. In driver education, students learn, not only traffic laws, but good attitudes that will help them become better drivers, make fewer mistakes, and teach them respect for other drivers and traffic laws. The 50 hour parent supervised driving program, which is part of the mandatory driver education program, will give teens a longer period to practice their driving before obtaining their license.

Overall, I think this is a great new law, which will help prevent careless accidents and improve drivers on the roads. w/ this new law, there will be less parents willing to have their teenagers obtain the driving license before the age of 18, but this might also lead to the possibilities of teens driving w/out licenses.

Next site I picked was 55 alive. Their web address is on the board. This is the nation’s first and largest classroom driver improvement course specially designed for motorists age 50 and older. It is intended to help older drivers improve their skill while teaching them to avoid accidents and traffic violations. This site includes Test your

Next site I picked was 55 alive. 55 Alive is part of AARP, which is American Association of Retired Persons. Their web address is on the board. This is the nation’s first and largest classroom driver improvement course specially designed for motorists age 50 and older. It is intended to help older drivers improve their skill while teaching them to avoid accidents and traffic violations.

This site includes find a Class Near You, Auto Insurance Discounts, Test Your Driving I.Q., Close Call Quiz, Frequently Asked Questions About Driving, and More Resources. These links are helpful in refreshing your driving knowledge. You can take a quick test, which consisted of 10 questions in one of these sites. The questions in the test are the topics we covered in our class with the textbook. Frequently Asked Questions also deals with the topics we discuss in our text. So it was nice to see what we learn in class is being also taught across the nation. You can take an eight-hour course that is taught in two, four-hour sessions spanning two days. The two sessions course costs only $10. You can also get discounts from your auto insurance company after you successfully complete the course. I think this is a great chance to refine existing skills and develop safe, defensive driving techniques