Number of teen crashes surge: traffic safety report

According to a recent study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, new teen drivers are most likely to succumb to car crashes as the report zoomed to 15% more as compared to last year’s findings.

This study occurred between the period of Memorial Day and Labor Day when the number of teen deaths surge.

“Statistics show that teen crashes spike during the summer months because teens are out of school and on the road,” Dr. David Yang, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety executive director, said in a statement. “The Foundation’s research found that inexperience paired with greater exposure on the road could create a deadly combination for teen drivers.”

Its latest study, “Rates of Motor Vehicle Crashes”, said that teen drivers who are 16-17 years old may likely: 3.9 times more likely to be involved in car crashes as compared to their 18 year old counterparts;  2.6 times more likely to be involved in deadly car crash; 4.5 times more likely to be involved in a car crash as compared to 30-40 year olds;  3.2 times more likely to be involved in deadly car crash more than their older counterparts.

Teen crashes are on the rise as it is indeed 10 percent more than previous years.

Parents are urged to talk to their children about this.

“Parents are the front line of defense for keeping our roads safer this summer,”Jennifer Ryan, AAA Director of State Relations, also said. “It all starts with educating teens about safety on the road and modeling good behavior, like staying off the phone and buckling your seat belt.”

There are three reasons for these car crashes, report said.

• Distraction – Teens often talk with their peers on the road or through their mobile phones. This constitutes to about six out of 10 teen crashes.
• Not buckling up – Teens need to buckle up on the road. Sixty percent of them do not which results to teen crashes.
• Speeding – Thirty percent of of fatal crashes involved speed driving of teens. The study found out that this is one of the moves that teens make when learning how to drive.

So in order to combat teen crashes, AAA motivates parents to talk with their children about safety and repercussions, teach by example, and make a parent-children agreement on what to do and what not to do on the road.

AAA is a not-for-profit, charitable organization in Washington, D.C. that conducts traffic safety research and education.