This is National Teen Driver Safety Week, and here in sunny South Florida we're participating by doing things like wearing white shirts today to bring attention to this issue (along with concerned folk all over the country).
Here's the big question though: will kids listen? Is your teenager aware of Teen Driver Safety Week? Do they care?
Car Crashes Are the Biggest Cause of Teen Deaths in this Country - and Here in Florida
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which keeps track of these things, teenagers (15-20 yrs) face car accidents as the most likely way that they can die; car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in America.
The NHTSA statistics show that teens are involved in THREE times as many fatal crashes as everyone else. No wonder that someone thought up National Teen Driver Safety Week, right?
The government agency has also accumulated data on why this is: their studies show that "... [i]nexperience and immaturity combined with speed, drinking and driving, not wearing seat belts, distracted driving (cell phone use, loud music, other teen passengers, etc.), drowsy driving, nighttime driving, and other drug use" are the factors that result in so many teen deaths in car crashes.
Florida Teenagers and Car Crash Deaths
Down here in Florida, things are no different. The 2009 Florida Traffic Crash Statistics Report reveals that out of the 773,000 teens with Florida drivers' licenses, 29,485 were involved in an accident last year resulting in 19,292 injured kids and 153 teens who died in the car crashes. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has also found that in Florida, teenagers are THREE times as likely to be in a car crash as their grandparents.
How Can We Make Teen Driving Safer?
Those in the know are promoting National Teen Driver Safety Week as a great opportunity for parents to talk with their teen drivers about these statistics and the reasons behind them. Formal CONTRACTS between parents and teenaged driving children are available online -- where both parent and teen enter into a formal agreement regarding safe driving after they've had a chance to chat.
Talking and being involved with your kids should sounds good. However, there's the power of peer pressure to consider (risk of crash increases 86% with two teens in the car) and the pull of celebrity:
- would more kids drive safer if Lady Gaga asked them to do so?
- will teens understand that the brain bleeding and permanent injuries suffered by TJ Lavin in his final BMX ride in Las Vegas last Tuesday are the same life-threatening injuries that they can get in any type of car crash?
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