The term “100 Deadliest Days” originated from data collected by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, highlighting a concerning trend in road safety during the summer months.
According to the foundation, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day sees a significant uptick in fatal car accidents involving teen drivers.
Why are teen drivers at an elevated risk during this time?
A driver’s license equals a lot of personal freedom for a teen, but a combination of factors all collide in the summer months and put them in an unusual amount of danger. These include:
- Inexperience: Every driver has to learn sometime, and summer break is when many newly licensed teens first get to explore the road without parental supervision. Their relative lack of experience behind the wheel of a car can make it harder for teens to exercise good judgment or respond to unexpected situations.
- Extra leisure time: Teens also have a lot more spare time in the summer, which means they’re simply behind the wheel more often. Outings with friends, road trips and late-night excursions all contribute to the risk of an accident.
- Distractions: Smartphones, loud conversations with their friends in the car and more can all prove powerful distractions – and teens are not immune from believing that they can multitask behind the wheel.
- Road congestion: Summer is also peak travel season, which means there are lots of extra vehicles on the road – and many of them may be driven by people unfamiliar with the terrain. That also increases the likelihood of accidents.
What can you do about the situation? As a parent, the best thing you can do is educate your teen driver about the risks and limit their driving. You can start to ease the restrictions as they grow in maturity and gain confidence behind the wheel.
If your teen is injured in a wreck this summer, legal guidance can help you pursue the compensation they deserve.
