National Teen Driver Safety Week will be held in the state of Florida during the third week of October, according to MSNBC. Officials, law enforcement agencies and safe driving advocates will be using this time to help educate our teens and parents about safe teen driving habits. Car accidents in Weston and elsewhere continue to be the number one cause of death for teens in the United States. The risks of these accidents can be greatly reduced with more teen driver education and supervision.
The campaign urges moms, dads, and even older siblings to ride along with teens to help them to make smart and safe decisions behind the wheel. According to recent studies, including the most recent one released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, teens who live in households that have clear driving rules and supportive parents are less likely to get into a car accident.
Our Davie car accident attorneys understand how important it is to make sure that parents provide supervised driving practice to their teens in a number of driving conditions. Exposing them to various driving conditions will help to prepare them for the unexpected when they’re driving alone. Parents should also continue on the discussion of safe driving habits long after their teen receives an unrestricted license. Keeping these habits fresh in their mind will help them to make safe driving decisions and will help to reduce their risks of a car accident.
“The first six months after getting your license are the most important,” said Vincent Payne of the Florida car insurance provider AGIC Insurance, Inc.
AAA’s recent teen driving study examined the habits of teen drivers in North Carolina to determine which dangers were the most likely scenarios for a teen to be involved in a car accident. These drivers had in-vehicle cameras installed into their cars to record their every move. The study concluded that speeding, passenger distractions and failing to yield were the three most common causes of accidents for these teens in which they were determined to be at least partially at fault.
“We know that young drivers’ crash rates decrease quickly as they gain experience,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger.
Teens are most likely to be involved in an accident during their first 30 days of obtaining an unrestricted license, according to the study. With more experience comes decreased risks. Teens are 50 percent less likely to get into an accident with a year of unrestricted driving and two times less likely with two years of unrestricted driving.
AAA recommends that parents consider the following for their teen driver who no longer requires their supervision:
-Never enough practice. Try to ride with your teen driver whenever possible to monitor their driving habits.
-Limit passengers. The more passengers in the vehicle the higher the risks are for an accident.
-Set a curfew. Limit the amount of nighttime driving that your child does. Their risks for an accident greatly increase during this time.
-Consider creating a parent-teen driving contract to help to solidify these rules and to lay out the consequences for breaking them.
The car accident lawyers at Freeman, Mallard, Sharp & Gonzalez, LLC represent victims of car accidents in Margate, Wellington, West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie and Fort Lauderdale. If you or your teen driver has been injured in a car accident, call 1-800-561-7777 today for a free consultation to discuss your rights.
More Blog Entries:
Fewer Drivers, Fewer Car Accidents in Weston, elsewhere, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog, October 14, 2011
Teen Car Accidents in Boynton Beach and Elsewhere Discussed at 2011 Distracted Driving Summit, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog, October 6, 2011