National Teen Driver Safety Week is still ongoing and will run until Oct. 24 with a theme "Avoid the Regret -Avoid Impaired Driving." The program aims to educate young drivers and reduce teen incidents on the road.
Cities and organizations will launch their own programs in helping parents to raise awareness to their teens and instill in them the responsibility that driving an automotive vehicle is a much bigger responsibility than they seem to assume.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a study that showed real numbers through years of observation. Statistics show that only 25 per cent of parents talk about this topic to their teens before letting them sit behind the wheels. Teens, ages 15-19 years have the highest rate of fatal crashes due to speeding.
Most of these teen-related incidents have been accounted to distracted drivers, be it emailing, texting and calling, which rated to 74 per cent, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or peer related, being distracted by the passengers in the car.
"Teen drivers have higher rates of crashes per driver and per mile driven than any age group of drivers," AAA mid-Atlantic's manager John B. Townsend said. The strong presence of Social Media in this generation too has been one of the factors that causes distraction that leads to accidents. The FOMMO or Fear of Missing Out has plagued the focus of teens and gave them the automatic impulse to frequently check their accounts through their smart phones.
It is encouraged that adults should first and foremost set an example in responsible driving and behaviour behind the wheel, this would seem like a small thing but it goes a long way. Have that talk with your teen before giving them the keys. "You probably think your teens aren't listening," Townsend said. "But if this one conversation could save a life, isn't it a conversation worth having?"
