New research may leave some asking, ‘What’s a parent to do?’ By Heather Hollingsworth Associated Press January 05 2010

• August 30, 2009 – A report released this month by AAA Auto Club says prescription medications pose a threat to traffic safety, with only 28 percent of seniors 55 or older surveyed in a limited study aware of the potential impact those drugs can have on their driving.

• September 10, 2009 - Safe Kids coalitions around the country are holding approximately 850 vehicle safety events for families during the month of September, including more than 260 car seat checkup events on Sept. 12 for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's National Seat Check Saturday.

• August 19, 2009 - There is an increasing trend among women driving under the influence of alcohol, according to a new study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and data from the FBI. Statistics from the FBI show that arrests for women driving under the influence increased by nearly 30 percent (28.8 percent) over the 10-year period from 1998 to 2007. Over that same decade, DUI arrests for men decreased by 7.5 percent, although the total number of men arrested during the period outstripped women by about four to one.

·         September 1, 2009 - Nearly one in eight binge drinkers say they get behind the wheel and drive within two hours of drinking, U.S. government researchers report.

September 10, 2009 - The renowned Virginia Tech Transportation Institue ealier this summer released the results of a comprehensive study that looked at driver distraction by monirogin drivers with caeras inside cars for more than 6 million miles of driving found that dialing a cell phone, talking on a phone and foremost, texting, all incrase the risk of a driver having a crash. With texting, the risk of a crash goes up exponentially. Drivers who send and receive text messages while driving, on anerage, take their eyes off the road 4.6 seconds out of evy 5 seconds driving. At 55 mph, that equates to traveling the length of a football field without looking at the road.

A study published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Pediatrics finds that nearly 15 percent of teens think they're going to die young, possibly leading some to engage in risky behaviors such as drug use.

A study based on 2007 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that while 21.1 percent of Americans age 18 to 25 have alcohol or other drug problems that require addiction treatment, few recognized their need for help.

A study in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that a decline in binge drinking among males 12-20 years old did not extend to females of the same age, and that both male and female college students are bingeing more.

A new study published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs concludes that off-campus drinking by college students was reduced 27 percent by implementing community-level prevention programs.