Volume 13, Number 3: May 2005
Summertime Tips for Teens & Wheels
May 23-30 is Buckle Up America Week. With school over and summer freedom beckoning, the reminder is excellent timing. Teenagers may be behind the wheel more than ever. Their curfews may be looser without the demanding schedule of school. Their sights will be on the beach. Their parents should be nervous.
MWe at HealthLine don't mean to spoil summer fun. We still remember the exhilaration of being young and licensed at last. Facts are facts, though, and car-crash facts about teen drivers are sobering.
- Car crashes are the number one cause of death for youth aged 15 to 20.
- Driver error is involved in 77% of fatal crashes with 16-year-old drivers.
- Teen passengers increase the risk of deadly accidents. So does night-time driving.
- Crashes and tickets due to poor judgment, inexperience, and risk-taking (speeding, showing off, running lights) are higher for teen drivers than any other group.
- New research from the National Institute of Health notes that the part of the brain evaluating risk and controlling behavior may not be fully developed until age 25.
- For all these reasons, teens should drive stable cars with good crash protection. They often prefer, though, small cars, pickups, and SUVs. However, some SUVs and pick-ups have scores as low as 2 stars (out of 5) in rollover safety ratings.
What's a Parent to Do?
MStart safety training early, enforce your rules, and make your kids plan ahead for group activities. Here are some guidelines to consider.
- Supervise. A new driver should not drive without an adult for six months, logging 50-100 hours with at least 10 of them at night.
- Restrict passengers. Many authorities suggest that 16-year-olds driving alone should carry no nonadult passengers. (Some recommend no passengers until 18.) So your child should not be a passenger with inexperienced teen drivers.
- Choose safe cars. Put your teen into as large and stable a vehicle as you can, and monitor what friends drive.
- No buckle, no ride. Fastening seat belts should be automatic behavior for all of us when we get into a car. One simple click saves lives. Every night and daysummer and year-roundtell your kids in cars: "Buckle up, be careful, and have fun!"
For more information, go to www.roadreadyteens.org