As much as I try to keep up with changes in technology that affect driving, so I can integrate the latest developments into my advice to parents of teen drivers, I will admit to sometimes feeling, and being, behind the curve. And so it was when I received a press release from the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles warning young drivers about what apparently has become a fad: using cell phones to take and send photos of themselves while driving. If I had heard about “Selfies” before I don’t remember it. (I had heard about a similar Facebook game in which teen drivers get the speedometer of their car above 100 MPH, take a photo of the dashboard, and post the photo to their Facebook page or somewhere else on social media.)
Needless to say, the DMV release, http://www.ct.gov/dmv/cwp/view.asp?Q=534928&A=807, contains a stern warning about the dangers of using a cell phone to take a selfie while driving. But let me add a few observations about this phenomenon. First, selfies are a good illustration of the fact that because the human brain is not fully developed until we reach our mid-20’s, teens are attracted to risk taking and do not fully appreciate the danger of doing things like taking a selfie. Second, selfies illustrate a gap in our distracted driving laws and how they don’t keep up with latest technology or uses of it. I seriously doubt that any distracted driving or cell phone law anywhere that expressly prohibits the operator of a motor vehicle from taking a photograph, and thus there is technically no prohibition on taking a photo of oneself. This practice would only be covered under the more general reckless driving laws. In fact, in my new book Not So Fast, www.nsfteendriving.com, I advocate an all-encompassing ban on electronic devices for teen drivers (“no use of any device to text, type, read, watch video, or make a phone call while the vehicle is in gear”), but I didn’t think about taking photos.
Selfies, then, are another powerful argument for a zero tolerance policy for teen drivers and electronic devices: the cellphone goes in the glove box before the ignition is turned on, it stays there until the car is turned off, and teens do not use dashboard-mounted interactive screens while driving; they focus on the road.
