Your Teen Driver’s Best Protection Is You
In March of 2015, AAA released a study that months later I continue to tell the students about.
Researchers analyzed the six seconds leading up to a crash in nearly 1,700 videos of teen drivers taken from in-vehicle event recorders. The results showed that distraction was a factor in 58 percent of all crashes studied. NHTSA previously has estimated that distraction is a factor in only 14 percent of all teen driver crashes. The whole article is here and for those of us who like less words and more pictures:
From a random email that I received, here is some information about teaching an autistic student to drive. I'm not going to say that we are 'Experts" at it, but we do what we can!
Another unsolicited email about the dangers of teen driving and fatality rates can be found here.
Another unsolicited email with a quiz (That I only got 70% on!)
About 2,800 teens in the United States ages 13–19 were killed and about 227,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2020. That means that every day, about eight teens died due to motor vehicle crashes, and hundreds more were injured. Motor vehicle crash deaths among teens 13–19 years of age resulted in about $40.7 billion in medical costs and cost estimates for lives lost in 2020.
Cell phones and passengers are a major source of inattention to the roadway and are a contributing factor in motor vehicle crashes involving teens behind the wheel. Engaging in handheld cell phone use increases the risk of a crash substantially, and distracted driving research is much needed to prevent crashes involving young drivers. Investigators at the University of Pennsylvania and the Center for Injury Research and Prevention are working together to develop behavior change interventions that include strategies to encourage focused attention on driving.
(Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)
In the United States, teenagers drive less than all but the oldest people, but their numbers of crashes and crash deaths are disproportionately high.
The fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16-19 year-olds is nearly 3 times the rate for drivers ages 20 and over. Risk is highest at ages 16-17.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
Teen drivers, particularly 16- and 17-year-olds, have high fatal crash rates because of their immaturity and limited driving experience, which often result in high-risk behavior behind the wheel. Peer pressure is an especially potent factor
Negotiating and adopting a written agreement between you and your teen that reflects your expectations and clearly defines the restrictions, privileges, rules, and consequences that will serve as the basis for the teen to earn, and for you to grant, progressively broader driving privileges. Dr. Dale Wisely, Ph.D. from ParentingTeenDrivers.com has written an excellent document, that you can find here, that as a parent, you can use freely.
Designed to supplement your teen’s driver education curriculum, this brochure from Allstate offers valuable information, advice and a lesson plan for you to use to help your teen gain valuable driving experience.
Additional information and statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be found here.