100 days of danger: Tell teens it’s time to beware

The 100 days of summer that start on Memorial Day and end on Labor Day are called the “Deadliest Days” among experts on teen driving.

The time period has earned its moniker — teenager-involved crashes raise 15 percent higher than they are at any other time of the year. There are probably several reasons for the spike:

— Teens are out of school for the summer so they have more leisure time to run around in vehicles, which increases the amount of time they’re spending behind the wheel in the first place.

— Teens are also inclined to travel together (especially if not all of them have a license yet), which could increase the number of distractions a driver is facing from his or her passengers. Six out of ten car wrecks involving teenagers are related to distracted driving.

— Teen drivers are generally less-experienced. Many are still recently graduated from driving school, so they lack experience (but probably not enthusiasm) with the road.

— The failure to wear a safety belt is a known danger to teen drivers. According to data from 2015, 60 percent of teens who died in a fatal highway accident were not wearing a seat belt.

— Speeding is another hazard among young drivers, ranking in the three top mistakes made by teens while they’re behind the wheel.

Parents are encouraged to monitor their teenager’s driving behavior in order to make sure that they’re paying attention to safety issues while they’re behind the wheel.

For example, parents should enforce a “no cellphones turned on while the car is in motion” policy, rather than allowing a hands-free device.

Anyone who is injured in a motor vehicle accident this summer due to someone else’s negligence should seek help from an attorney as soon as possible.

Source: KPHO, “Parents beware: Teens entering 100 deadliest days of summer,” June 01, 2017

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