Unsurprisingly, in several recent studies regarding the leading causes of deaths among teenagers, traffic accidents are once again among the main causes of deaths for America’s teenagers. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently actually found that motor vehicle accidents were the #1 cause of death among teenagers, concluding that in 2013, 2,163 teens in the United States ages 16–19 were killed and 243,243 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. This essentially means that six teens ages 16–19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries in the United States. These tragic figures only reflect how important it is to speak with your teenagers about driving safely and to encourage them to engage in safe driving practices.
The risk of a motor vehicle accident is higher among teenagers than among any other age group. According to the CDC, teenage drivers are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged twenty or old to be in a fatal crash. In addition, the rate of fatalities among teenage males is even higher than among teenage females; according to the CDC, male teenagers were more than twice as likely as female teenagers to be killed in a motor vehicle collision.
If you have teenagers, one of the most important things that you can do to make sure that your teenager is avoiding many of the temptations and distractions that plague teenage drivers and contribute to making car accidents the leading cause of death among America’s teenagers. We need our young people to keep both hands on the wheel and stop texting when they are driving. Their lives are literally on the line and they do not even realize it. Many teenagers are too overconfident about their ability to text and drive.
In addition, consider limiting the number of passengers, if any, that you allow your teenager to take in the car with them, as this has been shown to be a leading contributor to teenage traffic fatalities.
Finally, it is particularly important to highlight with your teenagers the necessity to keep a safe distance between them and the car in front of them, as overconfident teenage drivers following too closely is also a major problem that causes many accidents every year. Take the time to talk to your teenage driver, as it is important that your teenager not end up as a statistic.
If you happen to be injured in an accident involving a teenage driver, at Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C., our experienced personal injury attorneys possess extensive experience representing victims who have been injured in car crashes caused by inexperienced teenage drivers.
Our car accident attorneys serve clients throughout the Chicago area, including Aurora, Elgin, Hinsdale, Joliet, Naperville, and Waukegan. If you have been involved in an accident involving a teenage driver and were injured in that accident, please call us today for a free consultation with one of our accident and personal injury lawyers at (312) 236-2900.
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