September 27, 2024, Durham, NC – Automotive technology is evolving more quickly today than ever before. In the 2020s alone, major innovations have been made in automotive connectivity, electrification, and self-driving and driver assistance features to increase convenience and comfort for drivers.

In addition, many new automotive technologies show promise for improving driver and passenger safety. Driver assistance features such as lane assist, automatic emergency braking, blind spot alerting, and 360-degree external cameras may be able to help drivers prevent vehicle accidents and increase drivers’ awareness of their surroundings.

Young drivers are at high risk for unsafe driving behaviors, such as distracted driving, speeding, and not wearing a seatbelt. Some automotive manufacturers have made efforts to address the safety of young drivers by offering car packages of safety technology features specifically for young drivers. For example, many General Motors (GM) manufactured vehicles offer a Teen Driver Technology suite of features, including an in-vehicle “report card” displaying teens’ driving habits, mandatory seat belt features, and more.

While some recent automotive technologies offer enhanced safety for drivers and passengers, others may negatively influence distracted driving behaviors. On the surface, Bluetooth connection systems for phone integration such as Apple CarPlay seem to prevent distracted driving by offering voice command and audio features that prevent drivers from taking their hands off the wheel to text or handle their smartphone. However, these controls may still direct drivers’ attention away from the road, especially in young drivers who have not yet built skills to avoid distracted driving. High levels of vehicle automation, adaptive cruise control, and hands-free steering features may also cause drivers to relax their focus and divert their attention from driving.

Across the United States, some laws have been implemented to respond to recent changes in automotive technology and prevent distracted driving. For example, Governor Tim Walz’s Hands-Free Law in Minnesota allows drivers to text, navigate, make calls, and listen to music using their cellphone, but only by using voice commands and single-touch activation. A main goal of the bill is to protect young drivers from distracted driving by limiting their abilities to touch their cellphone during their drive.

While policy change efforts have been made to prevent distracted driving, state and federal law are unable to keep up with the ever-evolving distractions on the road. For this reason, it is important to provide drivers, particularly young drivers, with skills to avoid distracted driving and opportunities to practice safe driving behaviors. Plan My Ride is a web-based, interactive training designed to help teens and young adults build knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to avoid distracted and impaired driving. Plan My Ride contains engaging online lessons, 360-degree scenarios, and knowledge-check quizzes to teach young drivers how to plan ahead for their drive, communicate to stay safe, establish safe driving habits, and avoid substance use. The program contains specific lessons on how to avoid using a cellphone while driving as well as how to identify the different forms of distractions they may experience behind the wheel.

To learn more about Plan My Ride or start using the program with young people to prevent distracted driving, visit https://planmyride.net/.