What’s New & Noteworthy at Media Power Youth

NH Teens Pave the Way to Safer Driving

Obtaining a driver’s license is a significant milestone for teens. It is often seen as a symbol of freedom, giving youth aged 16 and up more independence and access to new opportunities. It also helps them maintain relationships and connections with their peers through in-person visits and group activities. A driver’s license contributes to our teens’ social and emotional well-being by allowing them to develop and refine self-awareness, social-awareness, better judgement, and decision-making skills.

While so much good can come from learning how to drive, New Hampshire teens have also noticed an increase in risky driving behaviors among their peers. We have partnered with Dartmouth Health Children’s Teen Driver Program and Epping Middle High School in a new prevention effort to encourage New Hampshire teens to drive safely. We have assembled a team of high school student media creators who are passionate about advocating for their safety on the road, and that of others, to create content and communicate safer driving strategies.

These students have specifically noticed an increase in distracted driving among new teen drivers, including texting, making phone calls, eating and drinking, or even switching to a different Spotify playlist while operating a vehicle. They notice that these things take the driver’s attention away from the road and that they are not focused on ensuring the safety of others or themselves as a result. Students say they believe this is a significant issue because new drivers are not very experienced and they believe they can multitask, while in reality our brains aren’t wired to do several things at once. If we try to switch back and forth between tasks like texting and driving at the same time, we actually end up performing worse at both things, and there is a higher likelihood of a crash.

Our high school student leaders are learning media literacy skills and exploring different forms of media as they strive to teach their peers about safe driving behaviors. We look forward to sharing our youth-inspired materials, and helping teen drivers make smart choices to protect themselves, the people they care about, and everyone on the road around them. Stay tuned for updates!