Did you know that the 100 days between Memorial and Labor Day are the deadliest for teens? Car crashes are behind this troubling statistic. The CDC estimates that 7 teens between the ages of 16 and 19 die every day from motor vehicle injuries. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for American teens, and during the 100 Deadliest Days, teens are 20% more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than they are during the rest of the year.
As a result, keeping our teens safe behind the wheel should be one of our top priorities. Unfortunately, we don’t always know how to do that! When teenagers begin driving, most parents remember to talk to their child about not drinking and driving. Some parents even remember to discuss the perils of distracted driving. But, most parents forget to talk to teen drivers about one of the most obvious causes of accidents: speeding. Speeding is the top cause of car crashes among teen drivers.
Speeding is more prevalent among teen males, at night, and in the presence of other teen passengers. Almost 40% of males between the ages of 15 and 20 who were involved in fatal car crashes were speeding. Taking risks is very common among teens, and they simply don’t always think through the consequences of driving too fast.
Below are tips for parents to keep their teens safe while behind the wheel:
Talk about it. Don’t just assume that your teen will receive all the important messages they need from their Driver’s Education. Have serious discussions about the importance, and your expectation, of observing all traffic laws. Create family rules around driver safety. Topics of conversation should include:
- Don’t speed. Let your teen know that speeding is the most prevalent cause of accidents for teen drivers. Acknowledge that speeding makes us feel as if we’re getting to our destination quicker, but in reality that is not true. Between traffic lights and maneuvering around slower cars, almost all of the time saved by speeding is eaten up. In addition, the dangerous weaving in and out of traffic and the wild braking and accelerating generally cause the speeding driver to develop road rage and confuse other drivers. And, do not focus your warnings against speeding only on the highway. Over 85% of all speed-related fatal crashes occur on non-interstate roads. The rule should be no speeding anywhere.
- Don’t follow too closely. Reinforce the importance of the “3-second rule” in following behind other vehicles. Your braking distance is directly related to your speed. Give your teen the facts about our reflexes and how long it takes for us to register an obstacle, apply the brake, and for the brakes to actually stop the vehicle.
- Reduce passengers. Teens are social creatures, and it’s very fun to pick up some buddies in a car to go somewhere. Unfortunately, passengers are very distracting, and the desire to impress passengers with speed is very strong. Most experts highly encourage parents to ban passengers during a teen’s first year of driving. Many states have imposed limits on the number of people in the car of a new driver, but if your state hasn’t, you should create one for your teen.
- Wear seatbelts. Establish the expectation that your teen should always wear their seatbelt. The CDC reports that “seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45%, and cut the risk of serious injury by 50%.” Role model the use of, and discuss the importance of, seatbelts.
- Don’t drive drowsy. Every year, around 100,000 incidents of drowsy driving are reported, resulting in over 50,000 injuries. Driving drowsy is just as bad as driving impaired.
- Don’t drive impaired. Remind teens to never drive under the influence of a drug or alcohol and to never ride with someone who is impaired.
- Don’t drive distracted. Discuss the importance of avoiding distractions while operating a motor vehicle, and provide specific examples of distractions. Your teen should pull over to text, take a phone call, eat food, or even to have important conversations or arguments with people in the car. While 94% of teens acknowledge that texting while driving is dangerous, almost 40% admit to doing it. Texting while driving is 6x more likely to cause an accident than driving drunk.
Discuss consequences. You should establish consequences for your teen ahead of time for breaking any of the above rules. Your teen should know what will happen if you should discover that they were speeding, driving drunk, texting while driving, exceeding the agreed upon number of passengers, or breaking any other family rule. In addition, you should get familiar with your state’s laws about traffic violations and inform your teens. While every state’s rules are different, the law designates consequences for speeding and other infractions. In addition to the fine imposed by a ticket, you receive “points” on your license that can add up to higher car insurance rates or losing driving privileges.
Be a role model. The “do what I say and not what I do” policy doesn’t work. You cannot speed through your neighborhood, but tell your teen to follow the speed limit. Parents must model the behaviors they desire. That means parents must wear a seatbelt, avoid the cellphone, and obey the speed limits every time they are behind the wheel. Teens learn by example.
Do not buy your teen a car right away. Studies show that new drivers that are the primary owner of a vehicle are much more likely to speed than a new driver who is using the family car.
Help your tween get a feel for driving risks. It takes time for a new driver to develop the ability to instinctively know how fast they are traveling, how much time they need behind another vehicle, etc. When you have a pre-driving teen (14 or 15 years-old), periodically ask them to guess how fast you are driving without looking at the speedometer. This will help them develop a sense of a car’s speed, which will help them stay under the speed limit when they begin to drive. Have them count the seconds between you and the vehicle in front of you. Point out risks to them as you’re driving. By discussing these things before they start driving, your teen will be much more aware of vehicle safety.
Final Thoughts…
Teens who drive the speed limit have a significantly decreased risk of dying in a fatal car crash. When teens begin to drive, it is crucial that parents talk about all three perils of the roadway: 1) drinking and driving, 2) distracted driving, and 3) speeding. Studies show that teens who are monitored by their parents tend to drive more safely, so be involved!