National Safety Month Week 3: Safe Teen Driving

School is out for summer. The freedom from the classroom. The lazy days at the pool. The opportunity to make money at a job. All of these mean one thing – more teenage drivers out on the road. Unfortunately, car crashes are the leading killer of teenagers, with the summer months being the deadliest. Around twice as many teens die in car crashes in June, July, and August compared to the rest of the year. On average, 422 teens die in car crashes during each of these months, compared to 363 teens during the non-summer months.

This week is the third week in a five-blog series about particular safety topics outlines by the National Safety Council in response to National Safety Month. This week’s theme is safe teen driving, and it comes at the most appropriate time. The summer months can be so dangerous that they have been dubbed the “100 deadliest days for drivers.”

To decrease the number of teenage crashes, parents can take a initiative to help make the roads safer.

• Restrict driving and do not allow aimless driving
• Be an effective driving coach and continue to teach them how to drive after they have gotten their license
• Limit the number of passengers and your teens own time as a passenger as crash rates increase with passengers.
• Restrict night driving because the crash rate doubles
• Establish a parent-teen agreement, where you put rules and guidelines in writing

Teenagers should also use common sense before getting behind the wheel. It is not worth the risk to speed, to call or text someone while driving, or to get behind the wheel after some drinks.

The experienced Oklahoma car accident attorneys at McIntyre Law would like to encourage all drivers to be safe on the roads this summer.