Teen drivers in Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, TX and surrounding areas may not yet have the skills and experience to drive safely on the roads. An experienced personal injury lawyer knows that teenagers made bad decisions or errors in judgment in 66 percent of motor vehicle accidents involving young people.
There are certain types of bad decisions that teens are more likely to make. For example, young people are the age group most likely to send and read texts behind the wheel. Teens may also make dangerous choices without even necessarily being aware of it.
As spring and summer break arrive and as kids attend proms and graduations, parents need to ensure their kids have the knowledge to try to stay safe and avoid a collisions. Parents should talk to their kids and should set rules regarding driving behavior in order to reduce the chances of serious or even fatal collisions occurring.
Teen Driving Collision Risks
In 2013, there were 963,000 reported accidents in which the driver of the vehicle was between the ages of 16 and 19. In total, these collisions caused 383,000 people to get hurt and resulted in 2,865 fatalities.
A driver's lack of attention was a factor in 58 percent of the collisions with teen drivers. Cell phones were a factor in this. In 12 percent of crashes, teen drivers were involved in cell phone use. This data comes from an AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety report. The AAA Foundation reviewed naturalistic data, instead of just looking at police statistics. Police reports often underestimate the true danger of distracted driving and do not paint a comprehensive picture of what happened before a crash. The AAA reviewed almost 2,000 accidents to get a better understanding of factors leading to the crash.
The AAA Data suggests a significantly higher risk of distracted driving accidents as compared with government data. Drivers were visibly using a cell phone in about eight percent of accidents. However, in another four percent of accidents, the use of a cell phone seemed likely even if it could not conclusively be determined.
Cell phones were just one of two top causes of distracted driving accidents. The other common use of collisions resulting from driver inattention was a driver talking to passengers in the car and becoming distracted by them.
For a teenage driver, having passengers in the vehicle with him creates a significant potential risk. Teens are more likely to become involved in conversations or to make dangerous decisions to impress their friends, rather than watching the road carefully in order to be safe. This helps to explain why 36 percent of all motor vehicle accidents with teen drivers had other teenage passengers in the car. Fewer than five percent of passengers in the car with a teen who got into a crash were parent, while in 84 percent of cases the passengers were other young adults.
Parents should make sure that they tell their kids about the risks of having lots of friends in one car. In fact, parents may wish to set rules not only if their own kids are driving but also about whether their kids should get into cars driven by friends.
If you or a loved one has been injured contact Coby L. Wooten, Attorney at Law, P.C. at 800-994-1966 or visit https://www.cobywootenlaw.com. Serving Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, TX and surrounding areas.