Five of the greatest dangers for teen drivers to contend with are: driving impaired, not using a seat belt, distracted driving, speeding and driving with passengers in the vehicle. What do you see wrong in the picture above?
Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of teen crashes and cell phone use is a major contributor. However, another distracted driving behavior leading to teen car accidents is passenger interaction. Studies show that a teen’s chances of getting into an accident increase with each additional teenage passenger in the car.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens.
“In 2016, 2,433 teens in the United States ages 16–19 were killed and 292,742 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. That means that six teens ages 16–19 died every day due to motor vehicle crashes and hundreds more were injured.”
The warm weather means BBQs, swim parties and many other fun activities and celebrations, often involving alcoholic beverages … leading to inebriated drivers on our Kansas City roadways.
Having a driver’s license opens up a whole new world of responsibilities for a teenage driver. Parents and other adults in a teen’s life can be a role model, teaching them to be safe, responsible drivers.
With school being out, more teens are on our busy Kansas City roads, some of whom are fairly new drivers. June is National Safety Month and we want to share some safe driving practices with those teenage drivers.
