Confessions of a Driving Instructor

Feds investigate issues with side airbags

DETROIT (AP) — Federal safety regulators are investigating a problem with side air bags that may fail to inflate in a crash.

The problem already has caused recalls of more than 2,700 Toyota, Honda, Subaru and Nissan vehicles, but that number could grow if the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determines that more automakers used similar defective parts.

The recalled vehicles could have an ineffective mixture of the gas that inflates the side curtain air bags in a crash. That mix could mean air bags on one or both sides of the cars won't inflate in a crash, increasing the risk of injury, the agency said in documents posted on its website. So far no one has been hurt.

via www.foxnews.com

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via www.yourturn2apply.com

A 500 word essay could win you a $2,000.00 scholarship. The contest is open to students in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, and Utah.

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Teen Passengers Distract Teen Drivers

Teen Passengers: "The Other Distraction" for Teen Drivers

A pair of studies by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm® identify factors that may lead teens to drive with multiple peer passengers and, then, how those passengers may affect their driver’s behavior just before a serious crash. The studies were published today in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Experts have long known that peer passengers increase teen driver crash risk. What hasn’t been well understood was how they increase crash risk. “These studies help us understand the factors that may predispose teens to drive with multiple friends and how those passengers may contribute to crashes by distracting the driver and promoting risky driving behaviors, such as speeding, tailgating, or weaving,” said study author Allison Curry, PhD, director of epidemiology at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention. “Knowing this, we can develop programs that work in tandem with current Graduated Driver Licensing laws that limit the number of passengers for teens during their first year of driving.”

Read the press release.

Read more about peer passengers and teen drivers.

via www.teendriversource.org