Teen Tips for Driving Safe and Sane on the Road
Have
you or a friend ever received a ticket for speeding or even
caused an automobile accident? Do you know of someone your
age that was killed or seriously injured in a weekend car
wreck? If so, you're not alone - teen driving accidents and
fatalities are unfortunately all too common.
Motor
vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to
20-year-olds, and two out of three teenagers who die in
car accidents are passengers in vehicles driven by other
teens. The fact is, automobile accidents are a serious problem
for teenagers. Safety experts are trying to change that
by educating teens about the choices they make when they
get behind the wheel or ride in a vehicle with other teens.
Everyone
needs to drive safely and defensively. But if you're an
inexperienced or teenage driver, it's even more important
to understand your responsibilities on the road. Fortunately,
being careful and getting more experience behind the wheel
can help you become a safer driver.
What
Causes Automobile Accidents?
Many
things can cause an automobile accident, including weather,
reckless driving, speeding, drinking, drug use, and road
rage. Teens, who are newer to driving, may be more likely
to make mistakes, use poor judgment, or have trouble reacting
to sudden changes when they drive.
According
to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, most teenage
motor vehicle accidents are caused by:
-
Driver
error. Compared with crashes caused by older drivers,
those of teens more often involve driver mistakes.
-
Speeding.
Teen drivers have more crashes in which speeding is a
factor. Many high-speed crashes are single-car accidents
caused by the driver losing control of the car.
-
Passengers.
Teens' fatal crashes are more likely to occur when other
teens are in the car. Passengers can distract the driver
- usually by talking - and that risk of distraction increases
with each additional passenger.
-
Alcohol.
Drinking impairs drivers, and even though teen drivers
are less likely to drink and drive than adults are, when
they do their risk of crashing is much higher.
-
Night
driving. Driving at night is risky for beginning drivers.
Per mile driven, the nighttime fatal crash rate for teens
is about twice as high as the daytime rate.
-
Low
seat belt use. Overall, teens are much less likely than
adults to use safety belts.
(Source:
KidsHealth.org) |
