Summer Days Considered the Most Dangerous for Young Drivers
You’ve been patiently waiting for nearly nine months and it’s finally here—summer. School’s out, so now you can spend your days enjoying the sun and the many other benefits of summer in Texas. It’s a time to let your hair down a little, but it also needs to be a time when you exercise a bit of diligence and caution. After all, AAA Texas has long considered the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day as “the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers.” The study found Texas as the 10th-most-dangerous state for young drivers during the summer months.
What Are the Common Factors That Make Summer So Deadly for Teens?
Officials say that the greater amounts of unstructured time in the summer make it far more dangerous for young drivers. During the rest of the year, teenagers drive primarily to or from school or to or from work. In the summer, they often just drive, with no destination in mind.
Studies show that three factors account for most of the accidents involving teen drivers in June, July, and August:
- Excessive speed is involved in close to half of all teen driving fatalities during the summer months, accounting for approximately 40% of all teen fatalities between Memorial Day and Labor. Authorities attribute it to a couple of factors:
- A lack of experience behind the wheel—Many teen drivers simply don’t have a good sense of how fast they are traveling, or they lack the skills to handle a vehicle that’s traveling at a higher speed. They lack experience braking or handling turns while going at a high speed and are more likely to lose control of the vehicle.
- Testosterone and peer pressure—Young males, who are involved in three times as many motor vehicle accidents as females, are more likely to engage in risky behaviors and more likely to goad and be goaded to take those risks.
- Underage drinking and driving accounts for about a third of the accidents and fatalities involving drivers under the age of 20.
- Distracted driving contributes to about one of every ten fatal accidents involving teens each summer. Not surprisingly, teen drivers are about 10% more likely to be involved in an accident caused by distracted driving than any other demographic.
Ways to Reduce the Risk of a Summer Motor Vehicle Accident
The most important thing parents can do to protect young drivers in the summer is become involved. Young drivers certainly don’t want to have parents with them at all times. However, in the first few days of summer, it’s a good idea to accompany your young driver on a regular basis to both observe and offer guidance to help them become better drivers. It’s good to let your child drive some of the time, but also let them observe you behind the wheel, where, hopefully, you’re modeling good practices.
Establishing rules for using the family vehicle can also be beneficial:
- No use of cell phones (or hands-free use only) while driving
- Require young drivers to obey traffic laws and wear seat belts
- Limit driving times to daylight hours, if possible
- Limit the number of passengers your child may have in the car at any time…the more passengers, the more potential distractions
Contact the Aggressive Personal Injury Attorneys at Bailey & Galyen
At the law offices of Bailey & Galyen, we have a comprehensive knowledge of the laws and procedures related to personal injury claims. For more than 40 years, we’ve provided effective counsel to individuals across Texas who suffer any type of loss because of another person’s negligence or carelessness. We are proven trial attorneys who will be a strong voice for you in all proceedings. Contact us by e-mail or call our offices at one of the convenient locations listed below. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
