Final answer:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration considers visual and mental distractions as critical factors in crashes, which is true. Distractions while driving, like texting, significantly increase the risk of accidents. In the event of a crash, car crumple zones protect passengers by lengthening the time of impact.
Step-by-step explanation:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indeed believes that visual and mental distractions are important factors in crashes, so the answer to the student's question is true. These distractions can significantly impair a driver's ability to operate a vehicle safely. For instance, texting while driving is a common visual and mental distraction that can lead to severe accidents. The studies suggest a clear connection between distractions and increased risk of accidents. For example, inattentional blindness, as shown in an experiment by Most, Simons, Scholl, & Chabris (2000), demonstrates that even when people are focusing on a task, unexpected stimuli can go unnoticed, which can be dangerous while driving.
Regarding the data from the American Automobile Association, driver error is indeed a significant cause of fatal auto accidents. If 14 out of 30 randomly selected fatal accidents in a hypothetical study were caused by driver error, using a statistical significance level (alpha) of 0.05, it would be necessary to conduct a hypothesis test to determine if the AAA proportion is accurate.
Finally, cars designed with crumple zones help protect passengers during a crash by increasing the time of impact, allowing kinetic energy to be dissipated over a longer period and hence reducing the force experienced by the passengers (option a).