Teen Driving Study For Math Class

School is beginning and teens are starting to drive every day. My own teenager will be on the road within a year.  Can you help me work up a unit study about driving?  You’ll understand my reasons later.

Rate (r) equals distance (d) divided by time (t)

 r = d \ t 

or   d = r times t  

or  t = d divided by r

So if you travel 60 miles at 60mph, you’ve traveled 1 hour… t = d \ r

Is the following paragraph correct—exactly or just approximately?

If you are driving at 60mph, you will go 60 miles in an hour’s time—1 mile per minute.  If the speed limit is 55mph, and you drive 60mph will you get there 5 minutes sooner? 

What if you only drive for 30 minutes?  How much time will you save?  (2 ½ minutes??)  How about 15 minutes?  (Will you save 1 ¼ minutes??) 

If you are driving to your friend’s house that is only 15 minutes away, how much time will you save by going 5 miles over the speed limit??

Someone said, “If you say that, then the teen will only go faster.”   Well, how much time will you save if you go 10 mph over the limit for 15 minutes?

How does this work for a 45mph rural road?  Or going 75mph on the interstate?  You might save time if you were driving 4 or more hours---but 5 minutes in an hour’s time is not that much!  Think about it. 

Another question:  How much time are you going to lose at a stop light?  What is the average time that you have to stop?  Ask your parents & friends if they would forgive you for being a few minutes late (rather than not getting there at all).

Plus, if you are speeding: Stop lights & traffic jams usually bring us all back to the same driving time.

Last question:  How much time do you save if you pass a car less than 2 miles from home?  I have one answer to this one:  For my son, Jason: NONE.  He lost all time on this earth when he passed that car on August 12, 1995.  He was on his way home from church band practice that night.  They (his cousins & girlfriend who witnessed it) say his car went off the right side of the road after passing a car that would not let him in.  His car came back on the road & then hit an oncoming car.  The young man that died in the other car was also on his way home from his church.  They were both youth leaders of their church.

This is why this unit study is important to me.  I truly want answers to the above questions.   I want a Unit Study about Driving & Driving times.  I think all students (and adults) need to study this.  I only put in my story about Jason to make people think--to know the truth (& consequences) from this study.

Thanks, & God Bless You!

Lynda Vance

PS:  Happy 44^nd Birthday Jason (on August 31, 2016)





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