National Teen Driver Safety Week
According to the National Road Safety Foundation, a non-profit group that promotes safer roads through driver education and training, teens are the most likely drivers to be involved in a crash, and statistics show the chances increase by 20 percent in late October as daylight hours get shorter.
The second annual National Teen Driver Safety Week, which kicked off on Sunday and runs through October 25, hopes to call attention to what is a serious health issue, with more than 7,400 teen drivers involved in fatal crashes every year. Crashes involving teenage drivers are the leading cause of death and injury for people between the ages of 15 and 20. More than 1.7 million teen drivers are involved in traffic crashes every year, resulting in an estimated $40 billion in property damage, health-related costs and lost productivity.
According to the National Teen Driver Survey conducted by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm, few teens view their friends as inexperienced drivers and believe that teen passengers make a lot of difference in their driving safety. Teens in this survey were able to provide insight into what specific passenger behaviors could affect driving safety, such as acting wild or encouraging the driver to speed. Simply put, distracted teens make bad drivers. According to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, two-thirds of passenger deaths among 13 to 19 year-olds occur when another teen is driving.
National Teen Driver Safety Week is a week to bring teens, community leaders, educators, parents and guardians together to help stem avoidable accidents and injuries. The event was established last year by the United States government to specifically address teen auto accidents, which are the leading cause of death among 15 to 20 year-olds. It’s important to focus on teenage driving habits, because research suggests that teens underestimate emergency situations in which they need to react quickly.
DriversEd.com, a website which assists teens and others in getting their driver’s license, suggests some simple things parents and guardians can do to help their teen avoid becoming another statistic:
• Know where your teen is going and how he or she is getting there.
• Don’t let your teen ride with a driver with less than a year’s experience.
• Make sure your teen focuses on the road when driving.
• Make it clear that teen drivers should not use their cell phones in the car.
• Talk to the teen driver before your teenager leaves with him or her.
• Make sure you can reach the teen driver’s parents/guardian before your teen leaves with him or her.
• Have a plan in case of an accident.
• Anticipate peer pressure.
• Set the ground rules with a contract.
• It’s never too late to communicate.
If you’re a parent or guardian who plans to get involved with this event, please leave me a comment to share your ideas for participating, as well as any suggestions you may have on how we can help make our teens better drivers.
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So glad to see your blog is covering teen driving safety and my thanks goes out to all parents that help their kids get the practice they need before driving on their own– afterall, we’re all sharing the roads wtih them.
I work with a non-profit group called the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS.) NETS has developed a wonderful resource for teens and parents called The Novice Driver’s Road Map. Guided practice is the most important key to keeping your kids safe on the road and this resource gives parents the “curriculum” needed to practice the various driving scenarios with their kids before they hit the road solo. It consists of 8 progressively difficult practice sessions and is packed with tips to help parents (or other trusted adult) be an effective coach. It’s all packaged in a booklet that fits right in the glove box.
My kids are still young, but I’ve gifted this booklet to my babysitters and both they and their parents have found it to be extremely useful.
The Novice Driver’s Road Map can be ordered (for $15.00) at http://www.trafficsafety.org.
luckily teen deaths on the road are decreasing according to new research.
more and graduated education is helping like at
http://www.teenlivedrive.com
The Century Council, a national not-for-profit organization funded by distillers to fight drunk driving and underage drinking, is a longtime advocate for increasing safety on our country’s roadways. As part of our efforts to support National Teen Driver Safety Week, we partnered with the National Transportation Safety Board, the Ad Council, Nationwide Insurance, and the American School Counselor Association to distribute an interactive web-based game that highlights how distractions make it increasingly difficult for a teen driver to safely operate their vehicle. The game features images and messages that are relatable to teens which we hope will remind them to drive safely. Please join the effort by sending the game to a teen and encourage them to send it to a friend!
You can access the game on our website at http://www.centurycouncil.org.
Yes you are right I appreciate with your posting. Teens are major cause of accidents and some are using mobile phones while driving. In your national safety for teens week you can told teenagers don’t use mobiles while driving.
I like your spirit you collect complete data of teens crashes.