Young driver's car insurance news
22/06/2009
DUMB cars and driver distraction
Canadian buyers of young drivers insurance have been given the chance to drive a DUMB car simulator in a bid to educate them in the dangers of driver distraction.
One young student took the test and sat in the driver's seat trying to concentrate on his driving while being bombarded with a plethora of common distractions.
The exercise halted when he answered a simulated mobile phone call and smashed into the car in front of him.
The student said, "It's not easy. When you see your parents drive, they just drive and it's so casual for them and you are in the back and you don't realize how distracting it is when you are fighting with your siblings in the back.
The Distraction Undermining Motorist's Behaviour vehicle simulator (DUMB) is being taken to schools in the Atlantic Provinces as part of the Be Smart Be Safe Tour organised by the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
The simulator experience is being offered to Grade Nine students - young motorists who are just starting to drive, or who are thinking about taking lessons - in a bid to educate them early that distractions such as texting can be life threatening.
A spokesperson for Hoot, specialist providers of young driver's insurance, commented, "This sounds like a very useful tool in the constant battle to raise awareness of the role that driver distraction plays in many serious and fatal car accidents that befall young drivers."
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