Keeping Teen Drivers Safe - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

The #1 c

use of de

th fo

n teens is c

ccidents. Octobe

’s N

tion

l Teen D

ive

fety

eek

s est

blished by Cong

ess in 2007

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

l c

ccident th

dult d

ive

s. 16-ye

-olds, specific

lly, h

ve the <

ef=”https://n

tion

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

tes > of

ny d

ive

demog

phic.

isks inc

ith e

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

n you

nd you

child

void becoming one of these st

tistics?

d on belo

to len mo

bout the c

uses of teen c

ccidents

t c

n be done to p

event them.

If you o

you

teen d

ive

s been involved in

ccident,

e c

n help you explo

e options fo

compens

tion. No m

tteh

t kind of <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

vices

–

ccident-

tto

ney-houston

“>

uto

ccident > you

nd you

mily

e coping

ith,

e’

e he

e fo

you.

e’ve

esented victims in nume

ous kinds of c

ses, including bicycle

ccidents, moto

cycle c

shes, pedest

ccidents, Ubend Lyft

ccidents,

nd mo

Cont

ct us nond get connected to

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

ign,

nd you might

emembe

seeing videos o

esent

tions in school

ning

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. <

ong> Focusing on positive h

bits

nd tnspent communic

tion

ill help you keep you

teen

nd thei

iends s

fe. Conside

the follo

ing tips:

ong>Le

d by ex

mple.<

ong> Be

good

ole model

nd elimin

ny of you

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

emind them to do the s

me, even in t

xis oide-she vehicles. ong>T

lk it out.<

ong> Build t

ust

ith you

teen. It’s impo

nt fo

them to kno

they h

fe sp

ce to discuss thei

iving

nxieties. Encouge them to

ch out fo

help

sk you fo

ide if they o f

iend

e eve

intoxic

ted, f

tigued, o

othe

ise imp

ed. Emph

size the

esponsibility e

nd eve

y d

ive

hen it comes to follo

ing t

ffic l

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

’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

se t

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

eless device, even if it is h

nds-f

ee.

ong>Set cle

ules

nd consequences.<

ong>

hethe

you

teen is d

iving

, t

uck, o

SUV,

hethe

they’ve just e

ned thei

license o

ve h

d it fo

yes, the

ules

in the s

me,

nd you must enfo

ce them. ite

cont

ct you c

n sign

mily, if necess

y. Kno

hen to t

y the keys

est

ict p

ivileges,

nd don’t b

ck do

n. You could s

life. ong>P

ctice, p

ctice. ong>

hile it’ll be

e yes until they h

ve to de

ith d

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

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

in c

nd p

tient th

oughout this p

ocess - no holding on fo

life o

mming you

foot on the im

gin

y p

ssenge

ke!

The Cente

Inju

ese

nd P

evention

t Child

en’s Hospit

l of Phil

delphi

s c

ted

n intective

esou

ce to help pents

nd teens st

y s

fe on the

d. The <

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

tion, specific go

ls,

YouTube video tuto

l pl

ylist,

nd mo

ong>Tip<

ong>: It helps to b

k do

n e

ch skill into individu

l steps. Fo

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 <

ef=”https://

.ds.o

g/” t

get=”_bl

nk"

el=”noopene

nofollo

“>D

iving School

ssoci

tion of the

s > fo

e info on d

iving schools in you

te. P

ents should

lso check if d

ive

educ

tion p

ogms meet the <

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

lso en

oll you

teen d

ive

ddition

l defensive d

iving cou

se.

ong>Still feeling ne

vous? ong> Conside

inst

lling

iving monito

ing

pp on you

teen’s cell phone o

vehicle. These

pps

ble to tck

iety of d

iving h

bits, including speed

nd phone us

ge. Discuss this monito

ing

ith you

teen fi

st so they

e you’

e keeping

tch on them.

If you

e pu

sing

vehicle fo

you

teen, check fo

nced s

fety fe

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=”
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chment_70081″

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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.

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fety Tips fo
P

ents of Teen D
ive
s