AAA: July 4 is deadliest day for teen drivers
The AAA reports that July 4 is the deadliest day for teen drivers.
“Free from school and homework, teenagers spend more hours behind the wheel in the summer, and four of the days when the most teen fatalities were recorded fall in those months. July 4 tops a list that includes July 9, Aug. 8 and Aug. 14. The end of the school year produced three other dates that made the top 10 — June 10, May 20 and May 23.”
“ ‘Teen driving goes up by 44 percent during the summertime, and during these months, teens tend to drive more often . . .and they have less parental supervision than they do during the school year,’ said John B. Townsend II of AAA. ”
In 2010, 3,115 teenagers ages 13 to 19 died in motor vehicle crashes but the deaths have been reduced.
“The decline in teen deaths has been sharper than the overall drop in highway fatalities, which is attributed largely to the graduated licensing requirements that have been embraced by the District and most states, including Maryland and Virginia.”
“If all states adopted the toughest form of graduated licensing, an additional 500 lives could be saved and 9,500 crashes could be prevented, according to a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.”
What do you think of July 4 being the most deadly day for teen drivers? Does it make you think twice about letting them head out Wednesday night?
What do you make of the graduated licensing? (Does Georgia have that? I got my license in Georgia a long time ago!)
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10 comments Add your comment
homeschooler
July 3rd, 2012
8:35 am
Georgia does have graduated licensing and I am a big fan of it. But…kids and parents need to abide by the rules for it to work. Too many parents allow their teens to put other kids in their cars before they are legally able to.
The right to drive should be taken very seriously and the first six months that a teen drives he/she should focus on driving. I would be a big fan of removing radios, gps etc.. for the first 6 months. No distractions. No driving around at 12 midnight. Just school, work and home for a while. By 17 the rules can be loosened a bit to allow for some more freedom but the days of turning 16 and piling a bunch of friends in your car and hitting the town should be over.
My bigger concern is that so many kids don’t want to drive. Although I would love to not have the stress of my 16yr old behind the wheel of a car, I know it’s important for kids to start learning early when we do have control of their circumstances. I want my kids to have the best chance possible of being safe, educated drivers. This includes lots of time in the car with mom and dad during their “learners permit” year, drivers ed., following the rules of the graduated licensing etc..
Nothing can ensure that kids won’t get hurt but we can learn by the results of the graduated licensing laws and at least lessen the chances of serious accidents.
kimmer
July 3rd, 2012
10:06 am
I am a OK with the graduated licensing but I think one of the biggest factor is parents that fail to enforce proper boundaries for their teen. I don’t think the issue with teen MVAs is so much because they are teens than because they are inexperienced and a similar pattern would follow no matter the driving age. I personally am not in favor of raising the age requirements because I would much rather have a couple of years to instruct and guide my child than have them getting their license as they are leaving home to go to college.
Regarding the 4th holiday, sure it is statistically more dangerous but in the long run probably means very little. The reason for the 44 percent increase is not because of more dangerous conditions but simply a result of more of them on the road. If my child averages driving 50 miles a week and then ups that to 100 miles a week I would expect that to double his or her risk. If you want to limit their risk, limit their driving. That will work no matter the season.
Not just for teens
July 3rd, 2012
10:33 am
There’s a lot of adult driver’s out there that could use this class for sure!
LadyDawg
July 3rd, 2012
12:46 pm
I don’t think that teens understand the importance of following those rules after you get a liscense. I heard a friend’s teenager recently saying “how stupid it was that she can’t drive her friends” weeks after getting her liscense. What’s stupid is that her parents haven’t stressed the importance of following those rules. They are there for a reason. I agree with you 100% homeschooler
Warrior Woman
July 3rd, 2012
3:43 pm
I’m not a huge fan of graduated licensing, because I think parents ought to be responsible for setting rules for their children. However, given the prevalence of parents that WON’T be responsible, graduated licensing fills a need. I agree with kimmer that most of the teen incidents are more likely due to lack of experience rather than being a teen.
That said, I would actively undermine a rule that followed GPS use by teen drivers. There is no evidence that GPS use hurts driving abilities, and there is evidence that getting lost increases the risk to teen drivers – both from stressed-out driving and from ending up in dangerous neighborhoods.
Holidays are more deadly to all drivers, not just teen drivers. This appears to be a result of more driving and higher use of alcohol and other intoxicants during holiday periods (not necessarily by teen drivers, but by drivers in general).
homeschooler
July 3rd, 2012
4:24 pm
my problem with GPS is that I know that I personally get very distracted when I try to drive and program at the same time so I’m sure that teens would. My sister-in-law has a gps system in her lexus that will not allow programing while driving. My Honda lets me type and drive all I want. I just wouldn’t want my kid doing that. I would have no problem with them using a gps to get somewhere they had not been but to use it all the time would bother me. Also I think they need to learn the roads surrounding them and be able to function without one.
Denise
July 3rd, 2012
5:11 pm
I would be concerned about phone GPS also. Unless it is Mapquest (on an iPhone anyway) that “talks”, you have to keep looking down to see your next move. When I use mine (because I have no sense of direction), I plug my earbuds in and it “talks” in my ear. I don’t have to look at anything. Not sure if having something talking in a kid’s ear is any better than having something in front of them to watch is better or worse, though. I just know I get distracted more easily if I have to scroll down or press arrows to get to the next step in the directions.
Well I WAS excited...
July 3rd, 2012
5:48 pm
Let’s see, adultery blog the day before Father’s day, teen road death blog before the 4th. Let me guess, Thanksgiving; Poisoned turkeys, feel lucky? Christmas; Santa’s not real!
Why? You must be fun at parties!
Elizabeth "Liz" Carter
July 3rd, 2012
9:38 pm
ATTENTION PARENTS OF PRE-TEENS AND TEENS: There’s a class called Parents Reducing Injuries and Driver Errors (aka P.R.I.D.E.) that I highly recommend. It’s sponsored by the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute. The class is AWESOME! The FREE two-hour class which takes place on a variety of dates and in a variety of venues across Georgia is attended by the teen and at least one parent. The schedule can be found at http://www.ridesafegeorgia.org/. From the home page click on “Teen P.R.I.D.E.” and follow the links to the schedule of area classes. The course material covers various safety topics, Graduated Drivers Licensing laws as well as other various traffic laws and their penalties, AND especially for the teens’ parents, “How to be a Good Driving Coach.” I’ve been a volunteer P.R.I.D.E. instructor for six years now, going through the re-certification process each year because I believe in this course and the lives it can save!!
Donny from Suwanee
July 4th, 2012
1:54 am
We must know our teenagers! We must know them more than just what they are willing to tell us. A 16 year old behind the wheel of a car can lead to tragedy. Accidents are horrifying when teens are killed, or when others are killed because of their inexperience behind the wheel. In addition, we must know where our teenagers are going in the vehicles that they drive. My 16 year old nephew was murdered when he drove into the wrong neighborhood for the wrong reason. A well-meaning relative bought him a new car for his 16th birthday, and he abused the freedom. Now he is tragically gone. May God keep our kids safe as they drive, and may we have the wisdom as parents to help guide their decision making processes…