When someone thinks of the most dangerous parts of the year
for teen drivers. Many would think it’s the winter months. The ice and snow can cause slick roads. But really,
summer time is the worst for teen drivers.
AAA says seven of the top 10 deadliest days for teen driving happen during the
summer months, when kids are out of school and spending time hanging out with
friends. "Summer can be a fun
season for teens, but it can also have the highest fatality rates," said
Michelle Chaka, a safety researcher with Ford. The automaker's research shows many more teens died in the summer months of 2011
compared with the winter months.
Ford released a survey showing that teens often mimic their parents'
behavior behind the wheel. So if you text and drive or chat on the phone and
drive, you pretty much should assume Junior is doing the same thing when he's
out of your eyesight.
Several non-profit groups which focus on
teen driving safety have issued press releases in the past month, alerting the public that the dangerous months
are coming. Some groups try to scare
teens into being more responsible behind the wheel by hosting gruesome role
playing events that show the aftermath of a fatal accident. Some businesses want parents to buy their
gadget – an app that blocks texting, for example, or a GPS unit that tracks
where your teen is driving.
While there is no silver bullet that can guarantee your teen will stay safe
behind the wheel, parental involvement makes a huge difference. This is what
AAA suggests:
Restrict driving and
eliminate joy rides: For the first year of driving, parents
should limit their teen's solo drives to essential trips only, and only with parental
permission. No matter how much they protest, the first year after the get their
license should still be considered a training period.
Limit the number of
passengers: The number of crashes that happen with a large
posse of kids in the car is staggering. And when there's a large group of kids
in a car and something goes wrong, a bad situation can turn exponentially more
tragic. Fatal crashes for teens increase five-fold when there are two or more
teen passengers in the car. (The
nation was shocked earlier this year when a car full of teens from Ohio died in
a crash. The same sad situation happened just weeks ago in California. It is
likely to happen again this summer.)
Restrict night
driving: The risk of a fatal teen crash doubles at night. More
than half of night time crashes occur between 9 p.m. and midnight. Just because
your teen has his or her license doesn't mean you should abdicate your role as
chauffer. Either plan on continuing to pick up and drop off when your teen is
out, or plan for more sleepovers.
Establish a driving
agreement: Set clear consequences when your teen violates the
rules, and stick to the plan. AAA offers a sample teen driving agreement at www.TeenDriving.AAA.com.
Whatever you do, don't assume that because the state has issued your child a driver's license that he or she is now a safe driver. There is no such thing as a safe teen driver – they are inexperienced behind the wheel and need years of practice before they can truly be considered safe. The best thing parents can do is monitor their children and educate them as they use their teen years to practice essential driving skills.
