News & opinion Keeping Teen Drivers Safe

Keeping Teen Drivers Safe

Keeping Teen Drivers Safe

The #1 c

use of de

th fo

me

ic

n teens is c

ccidents. Octobe

’s N

tion

l Teen D

ive

S

fety

eek

s est

blished by Cong

ess in 2007

s

y to

ise

eness

nd seek solutions fo tgic

lly pe

sistent p

oblem.

Did you kno

? Teen d

ive

s bet

een the

ges of 16

nd 19

e fou

times mo

e likely to be involved in

f

t

l c

ccident th

n

dult d

ive

s. 16-ye

-olds, specific

lly, h

ve the <

h

ef=”https://n

tion

ld

yc

lend

.com/n

tion

l-teen-d

ive

-s

fety-

eek-thi

d-full-

eek-in-octobe

” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>highest c

sh

tes > of

ny d

ive

demog

phic.

isks inc

e

se

ith e

ch

ddition

l p

ssenge

dded to the vehicle.

Thous

nds of teens lose thei

lives in moto

vehicle cshes eve

y ye

, le

ving behind g

ieving p

ents. Ho

c

n you

nd you

child

void becoming one of these st

tistics?

e

d on belo

to len mo

e

bout the c

uses of teen c

ccidents

nd

h

t c

n be done to p

event them.

If you o

you

teen d

ive

h

s been involved in

n

ccident,

e c

n help you explo

e options fo

compens

tion. No m

tteh

t kind of <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

c

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>

uto

ccident > you

nd you

f

mily

e coping

ith,

e’

e he

e fo

you.

e’ve

ep

esented victims in nume

ous kinds of c

ses, including bicycle

ccidents, moto

cycle c

shes, pedest

i

n

ccidents, Ubend Lyft

ccidents,

nd mo

e.

Cont

ct us nond get connected to

c

ccident

tto

ney!

Teen D

ive

ccident St

tistics<

h2>
Let’s begin

ith some good ne

s, sh

ll

e?

Ove

the l

st fe

dec

des, <

h

ef=”https://

.iihs.o

g/topics/f

t

lity-st

tistics

det

il

teen

ge

s” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>teen c

ccident f

t

lities h

ve dec

e

sed > considebly - f

om ove

9,000 in 1980 to 2,476 in 2018. (Ho

eve

, it should be noted th

t m

le teens h

ve

em

ined t

ice

s likely to die in

n

ccident

s fem

le teens.)

<

h

ef=”https://

.iihs.o

g/topics/f

t

lity-st

tistics

det

il

teen

ge

s” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>[sou

ce: Insunce Institute fo

High

y S

fety]<> In Tex

s, 326 teen d

ive

s

e

e involved in <

h

ef=”http://ftp.dot.st

te.tx.us

pub/txdot-info/t

f

c

sh_st

tistics

2019/26.pdf” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>f

t

l c

shes > l

st ye

. 136 bec

me c

su

lties themselves.

ddition

lly, 7% of

ll d

unk d

ive

s involved in f

t

l cshes in Tex

s l

st ye

e

e undeged. Some of the d

unk d

ive

s

e

e <

h

ef=”http://ftp.dot.st

te.tx.us

pub/txdot-info/t

f

c

sh_st

tistics

2019/44.pdf” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>

s young

s 14 >. Neu

ologic

l development comes into pl

y, too.

cco

ding to <

h

ef=”https://

.chop.edu

ne

s

teens-

dhd-get-mo

e-t

ffic-viol

tions-

isky-d

iving-h

ve-highe

-csh-

isk-

egdless-

ge-

hen" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

nofollo

">

study conducted by the Child

en’s Hospit

l of Phil

delphi

>, teens di

gnosed

ith

DHD

e mo

e likely to eng

ge in

isky d

iving beh

vio

s. They

e 62% mo

e likely to csh

ithin thei

fi

st month of d

iving,

nd 37% mo

e likely to csh du

ing the fi

st fou

ye

s

fte

getting thei

license, comped to thei

pee

s

ithout

DHD.

ddition

lly, nely 37% of teens

ith

DHD

e

e issued

t

ffic viol

tion

ithin thei

fi

st ye

of d

iving, comped to 25% of teen d

ive

s

ithout

DHD.

Biggest

isks fo

Teen D

ive

s<

h2>
It m

y su

p

ise you to len th

t m

ny c

ccidents involving teens

e not c

used by

eckless d

iving o

th

ill-seeking

ttitudes. Inste

d, they’

e the

esult of simple eo

s

ssoci

ted

ith inexpe

ience.

The most d

nge

ous time pe

iod? The fi

st 6 to 12 months

fte teen

eceives

p

ovision

l license

nd st

ts d

iving on thei

o

n.

fte

they’ve cked up thei

fi

st 1,500 miles of independent d

iving,

teen d

ive

’s csh

isk d

ops dstic

lly.

hen it comes to the c

uses of se

ious <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

t

lk-teen-c-eck

“>c

ecks >, studies point to fou

common-yet-c

itic

l e

o

s m

de by ne

ly-licensed teen d

ive

s:
  • -level=”1″> ong><

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    f

    t

    l-speeding-

    ccident-pe

    cent/”>Speeding >:<

    st

    ong> In Tex

    s l

    st ye, speeding cont

    ibuted to ove

    167,604 cshes, o

    30% of

    ll

    epo

    ted cshes.

    mong m

    le d

    ive

    s

    ges 15 to 20 involved in f

    t

    l c

    shes in 2017, 31%

    e

    e speeding

    t the time of the

    ccident.

  • i

    -level="1">ong><

    h

    ef=”https://c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    episode-15-ho

    -to-p

    event-dist

    cted-d

    iving-

    ith-you

    -teens

    “>Dist

    cted d

    iving<>:<

    st

    ong> D

    ive

    s unde

    the

    ge of 20 m

    ke up the l

    gest pe

    cent

    ge of dist

    cted d

    ive

    s.

    esech h

    s sho

    n th

    t <

    h

    ef=”https://

    .nhts

    .gov/

    o

    d-s

    fety

    teen-d

    iving">texting

    hile d

    iving<> inc

    e

    ses

    teen’s

    isk of cshing by 23 times. F

    iends c

    n be distcting, too: the ch

    nces of being in

    n

    uto

    ccident

    lso inc

    e

    se

    ith e

    ch teen p

    ssengedded to the vehicle.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Slo

    esponses o

    f

    ilu

    e to detect

    h

    zd:<

    st

    ong> Unde

    developed “sc

    nning" skills me

    n teen d

    ive

    s

    on’t notice

    h

    zd in the

    o

    d until it's too l

    te.

    ddition

    lly,

    pplying the ong

    mount of p

    essu

    e to the b

    kes in

    esponse to

    h

    zd c

    n

    esult in teen d

    ive

    s

    e

    -ending someone, o

    getting

    e

    -ended themselves. They m

    y

    lso ove

    coect thei

    mist

    kes, le

    ding to e

    tic s

    e

    ving

    nd

    ccidents.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>D

    unk D

    iving: ong> <

    h

    ef="https:

    /c

    inju

    yvictims.com

    se

    vices

    houston-d

    unk-d

    iving-dui-o

    -d

    i-

    ccident-

    tto

    ney

    “>D

    unk d

    iving > is

    se

    ious th

    e

    t to teens. Teen d

    ive

    s e less likely th

    n

    dults to d

    ink

    nd d

    ive, but

    hen they do, thei

    c

    sh

    isk is subst

    nti

    lly highe

    . Check out the f

    cts:<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">

    2017 Youth

    isk Beh

    vio

    Su

    vey

    eve

    led 16.5% of

    me

    ic

    n high school students h

    d

    ecently

    idden

    ith

    d

    iveho h

    d been d

    inking

    lcohol.

  • i

    -level="1">

    mong m

    le d

    ive

    s

    ges 15 to 20 involved in f

    t

    l c

    shes in 2017, 20% h

    d been d

    inking.

  • i

    -level="1">Ove

    h

    lf of

    ll f

    t

    l

    uto

    ccidents involving teens occu

    on the

    eekend. This is undoubtedly linked to p

    tying

    nd undeged d

    inking.

In summ

y, the teens

ith the highest

isk of c

ccident involvement e m

le, ne

ly-licensed,

nd keen to give thei

f

iends

ide.

S

fety Tips fo

P

ents of Teen D

ive

s

e’ve

ll he

d of the Tex

s “Click It o

Ticket” c

mp

ign,

nd you might

emembe

seeing videos o

p

esent

tions in school

ning

g

inst the d

nge

s of d

unk d

iving o

sho

ing gphic

ccident scenes.

ong>But you c

n’t sc

e you

child

en into s

fety. <

st

ong> Focusing on positive h

bits

nd tnspent communic

tion

ill help you keep you

teen

nd thei

f

iends s

fe. Conside

the follo

ing tips:

ong>Le

d by ex

mple.<

st

ong> Be

good

ole model

nd elimin

te

ny of you

o

n b

d d

iving h

bits: neve

text

nd d

ive

hile you

teen is in the c

,

nd neveush to be

t th

t yello

light.

lys buckle up

nd

emind them to do the s

me, even in t

xis oide-she vehicles. ong>T

lk it out.<

st

ong> Build t

ust

ith you

teen. It’s impo

t

nt fo

them to kno

they h

ve

s

fe sp

ce to discuss thei

d

iving

nxieties. Encouge them to

e

ch out fo

help

nd

sk you fo

ide if they o f

iend

e eve

intoxic

ted, f

tigued, o

othe

ise imp

i

ed. Emph

size the

esponsibility e

ch

nd eve

y d

ive

h

s

hen it comes to follo

ing t

ffic l

s.

ong>Kno

the GDL l

s. ong> Gdu

ted D

ive

Licensing l

s v

y by st

te. In Tex

s, teens must st

y in ph

se one

ith thei

“le

ne

’s pe

mit” fo

minimum of six months. Then, once they h

ve completed

ll po

tions of d

ive

's educ

tion

nd e bet

een 16

nd 18 yes of

ge, they

e eligible fo

ph

se t

o

nd

"p

ovision

l license." P

ovision

lly-licensed d

ive

s m

y not h

ve mo

e th

n one p

ssenge

belo

the

ge of 21

ith them,

nd they m

y not d

ive bet

een the hou

s of midnight

nd 5:00

M. They e

lso

est

icted f

om using

ny

i

eless device, even if it is h

nds-f

ee.

ong>Set cle

ules

nd consequences.<

st

ong>

hethe

you

teen is d

iving

c

, t

uck, o

SUV,

hethe

they’ve just e

ned thei

license o

h

ve h

d it fo

fe

yes, the

ules

em

in the s

me,

nd you must enfo

ce them. ite

cont

ct you c

n sign

s

f

mily, if necess

y. Kno

hen to t

ke

y the keys

nd

est

ict p

ivileges,

nd don’t b

ck do

n. You could s

ve

life. ong>P

ctice, p

ctice, p

ctice. ong>

hile it’ll be

fe

mo

e yes until they h

ve to de

l

ith d

e

ded commute

tffic, you c

n help you

teen d

ive

develop smt h

bits they’ll c

y fo

the

est of thei

lives. F

om the highy to the subu

bs, offe

you

teen

mple oppo

tunities fo

supe

vised d

iving pctice

ith you.

ccomp

ny them in

viety of

e

the

, lighting,

nd tffic conditions

nd help them build thei

confidence. Even if you

teen is en

olled in d

ive

’s ed, supplement this

ith plenty of one-on-one p

ctice time.

emembe

to

em

in c

lm

nd p

tient th

oughout this p

ocess - no holding on fo

de

life o

sl

mming you

foot on the im

gin

y p

ssenge

b

ke!

The Cente

fo

Inju

y

ese

ch

nd P

evention

t Child

en’s Hospit

l of Phil

delphi

h

s c

e

ted

n intective

esou

ce to help pents

nd teens st

y s

fe on the

o

d. The <

h

ef=”https://

.teend

ive

sou

ce.o

gdvoc

cy-educ

tion

educ

te-

ith-teend

ivingpl

n” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>TeenD

ivingPl

n P

ctice Guide > includes info

m

tion, specific go

ls,

YouTube video tuto

i

l pl

ylist,

nd mo

e.

ong>Tip<

st

ong>: It helps to b

e

k do

n e

ch skill into individu

l steps. Fo

ex

mple, “S.M.O.G.”

hen ch

nging l

nes: tu

n on you

sign

l, check you

mio

s, look ove

you

shoulde

,

nd go!

Visit the <

h

ef=”https://

.ds.o

g/” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>D

iving School

ssoci

tion of the

me

ic

s > fo

mo

e info on d

iving schools in you

St

te. P

ents should

lso check if d

ive

educ

tion p

ogms meet the <

h

ef="http:

/

.

nstse.info/Im

ges

2017%20Home/001%20-%202017%20NTDET

S.pdf" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

nofollo

">Novice Teen D

ive

Educ

tion

nd Tining

dminist

tive St

ndds<>. You c

n

lso en

oll you

teen d

ive

in

n

ddition

l defensive d

iving cou

se.

ong>Still feeling ne

vous? ong> Conside

inst

lling

d

iving monito

ing

pp on you

teen’s cell phone o

vehicle. These

pps

e

ble to tck

v

iety of d

iving h

bits, including speed

nd phone us

ge. Discuss this monito

ing

ith you

teen fi

st so they

e

e you’

e keeping

close

tch on them.

If you

e pu

ch

sing

ne

vehicle fo

you

teen, check fo

dv

nced s

fety fe

tu

es like blind spot detection

nd b

ckup c

mes.

S

fety Tips fo

Teen D

ive

s<

h2>
Getting you

d

ive

's license is

n exciting

ccomplishment, but it c

n

lso t

igge

some

nxiety. This m

jo

step in you

independence comes

ith

lot of

esponsibility.

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

s

fest-used-cs-teens

“>D

iving<> involves muscle memo

y you

ill develop ove

time, but the

e e some s

fe d

iving h

bits you should

lys obse

ve, like the follo

ing: ong>Neve

d

ive unde

the influence.<

st

ong> D

iving is

complex t

sk th

t

equi

es you

full

ttention

nd fine-tuned

eflexes,

nd d

ugs

nd

lcohol imp

i

th

t.  Not only is it d

nge

ous, but you

ill f

ce st

ict pen

lties

nd m

y lose you

license if you e c

ught d

iving imp

i

ed. ong>Buckle up. ong>

l

ys

e you

se

t belt,

nd m

ke su

e

ll you

p

ssenge

s do, too.

eing

se

t belt

educes you

isk of inju

y in the event of

c

ccident. ong>Obey speed limits. ong>

l

ys be

e of the posted speed limit fo

you

e

nd neve

exceed it.

emembe

those physics lessons: the f

ste

you’

e going, the h

de

it

ill be to stop in c

se of eme

gency!

ong>No distctions.<

st

ong> Distcted d

iving signific

ntly

educes

d

ive

’s

bility to

e

ct to

o

dy h

z

d. Keep you

eyes on the

o

d, keep you

h

nds on the

heel,

nd keep you

mind on the t

sk

t h

nd. Neve

e

t, d

ink, text, c

ll, o

use mobile

pps

hile d

iving. Conside

using you

phone’s “Do Not Distu

b” fe

tu

e. If you must use

GPS

m

p

pplic

tion, use

p

ope

h

nds-f

ee c

mount. If you

eceive

n eme

gency phone c

ll, pull ove

to the side of the

o

d. ong>No

o

dy p

ssenge

s. ong>

hile

e’

e on the topic of dist

ctions,

e should mention the m

jo

ity of teen p

ssenge

de

ths occu

in vehicles d

iven by

nothe

teen

ge

. Conve

s

tions

ith f

iends c

n t

ke you

mind off of d

iving

nd

esult in

tgic

ccident.

ong>Don’t bl

st music o

e

he

dphones.<

st

ong> You need to be

ble to he

ho

ns

nd si

ens f

om othe

vehicles! ong>St

y

ell-

ested.<

st

ong> The m

jo

ity of f

tigue-

el

ted c

shes involve d

ive

s younge

th

n 25.

e kno

it’s tough to juggle

schedule of school, spo

ts, jobs,

nd home

o

k,

nd

esech compiled by <

h

ef="https:

/

.sleepfound

tion.o

g

ticles/teens-

nd-sleep" tget="_bl

nk”

el="noopene

nofollo

">SleepFound

tion.o

g<> found

lmost 70% of high schoole

s slept fe

e

th

n seven hou

s pe

night,

ell belo

the

ecommended

mount of 8 to 10 hou

s. But you should neve

get behind the

heel

hen you’

e feeling ti

ed — it m

y cost you you

life. C

ll

p

ent fo

help. ong>St

y insu

ed. ong> The

o

ld of c insunce is p

ob

bly bnd ne

to you, but you should kno

Tex

s is

comp

tive f

ult st

te.

ll d

ive

s e

equi

ed to c

y

minimum

mount of li

bility insunce. T

lk to you

pents to ensu

e you h

ve the

pp

op

i

te covege. ong>St

y info

med. ong> If you h

ve

p

ovision

l d

ive

’s license, be su

e you

e

e of the

est

ictions in you

st

te’s g

du

ted d

ive

licensing (GDL) ls.

Continuing the Conve

s

tion<

h2>

hen you he ho

m

ny teens die f

om c

ccidents, it’s n

tu

l to feel

fid

nd

nxious. e id=”

tt

chment_70081″

i

-desc

ibedby=”c

ption-

tt

chment-70081" style="

idth: 238px” cl

ss="

p-c

ption

lign

ight">ss=”

p-im

ge-70081″ s

c="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2020/02/Ste

t-J.-Guss-

tto

ney-260x300.jpg"

lt=”Ste

t-J.-Guss-

tto

ney"

idth=”238″ height=”275″ s

cset="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2020/02/Ste

t-J.-Guss-

tto

ney-260x300.jpg 260

, https://c

inju

yvictims.comp-content

uplo

ds

2020/02/Ste

t-J.-Guss-

tto

ney.jpg 292

” sizes=”(m

x-

idth: 238px) 100v

, 238px"

> ption id="c

ption-

tt

chment-70081″ cl

ss="

p-c

ption-text">

tto

ney, <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

ou

-te

m/ste

t-guss

“>Ste

t J. Guss<><

figc

ption><

figu

e> But

e

ll h

ve the po

e

to m

ke

diffe

ence. This

eek –

nd eve

y

eek - pents should h

ve f

nk conve

s

tions

ith thei

teens

bout d

ive

s

fety

nd the choices they must m

ke

hen it comes to

lcohol, p

ssenge

s, dist

cted

nd d

o

sy d

iving, speeding,

nd otheules of the

o

d. Togethe

,

e c

n help ou

teens become

esponsible d

ive

s fo

life. Get pe

ce of mind kno

ing th

t if d

nge

eve

st

ikes on the

o

d,

e’ve got you

b

ck. Ou

dedic

ted te

m of

tto

neys h

ve helped thous

nds of f

milies

ecove

f

om

ecks of

ll kinds. If you need help o

h

ve questions

bout

ecent c

ccident,

e

ch out no

to spe

k

ith

dedic

ted c

ccident lye

. <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

cont

ct-us

“>Consult

tions<> e

l

ys f

ee

nd confidential.

How Can We HELP Get a FREE Virtual Consultation
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

Client testimonials "Mr. Guss & his team significantly exceeded my expectations and the net settlement I received was more than triple... - Norman B. View All Testimonials
Schedule a free virtual visit 866-552-1808 Or Send us a message today >

Read More

Handling Catastrophic Injury Claims for 20+ Years
Car Accident Attorneys Houston 19 Jan

  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

. to schedule f ee consulttion. Don’t del y! Youights e too impot nt. Signs of n Intoxic ted...

How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

He e’s scen io e see ll too often in ou line of o k: pe son lks y...

Get Legal Help Now Contact Our Attorneys To LEarn How We Can Help You Achieve The Justice You Deserve * Required Field
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.