According to the CDC, Parents Are the Key to Safe Teen Drivers
Car crashes are the #1 killer of teens and they take over 4,000 young lives every year. The main cause of teen crashes is driver inexperience. All new drivers—even straight-A students and “good kids”—are likelier than experienced drivers to be involved in a fatal crash.
You can make a difference by getting involved with your teen’s driving. Take advantage of the “Parents Are the Key” tools and resources. Learn about the most dangerous driving situations for your young driver—and how to avoid them.
The CDC suggests this;
Talk with your teen about the dangers of driving. Express your concern for his or her safety and well-being.
Extend your teen’s supervised driving period: Include at least 30 to 50 hours of practice over at least six months.
Make sure your teen always wears a seat belt.
Limit your teen’s nighttime driving. Fatal crashes for 16-year-olds happen almost twice as often at night than during the day. Be sure your teen is off the road by 9 or 10 PM. This is most important during the first 6 months that he or she has a license.
Restrict the number of teen passengers allowed in the car. Nearly 2 out of 3 teen crash deaths involving 16-year-old drivers happen when a new driver has one or more teen passengers.
Participating Organizations
In fall 2009, “Parents Are the Key” was launched in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Columbus, Ohio, with the help of these participating organizations.
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
American Academy of Pediatrics
Arkansas Department of Health
Arkansas PTA
Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Franklin County Board of Health
Franklin County Safe Communities
Grant Medical Center, Trauma Program
Heart of Arkansas United Way
Injury Prevention Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Prevention Research Branch, Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Research)
National MOST Of Us Institute for Social Norms
National Safety Council
National Safety Council, Central Ohio Chapter
Nationwide Insurance
Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
Ohio Department of Health
Ohio Department of Public Safety
Ohio State University Medical Center, Level I Trauma Center
Riverside Methodist Hospital Trauma Services
Safety Council of the Ozarks
Somali Community Access Network: SomaliCAN
The Allstate Foundation
Thompson Defensive Driving Systems
University of Maryland, School of Public Health, Department of Public & Community Health
YMCA of Central Ohio
YMCA of Metropolitan Little Rock
Crash Facts
Teen drivers are four times likelier to crash than older drivers.
Crash risk goes up when teens drive with other teens in the car. Nearly two out of three teen crash deaths that involve 16-year-old drivers happen when a new driver has one or more teen passengers.
Night-time fatal crash rates for 16-year-olds are nearly twice as high as daytime rates.
