Nationwide, car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death for teenagers. Each year over 5,000 teenagers are killed due to fatal injuries resulting from a car crash, and hundreds of thousands more are injured. The highest risk age group is teens aged 16-19. The chances of these teens being in a crash are four times greater per mile driven than for other age groups. Many of these crashes are a result of impaired driving. It is for this reason that Kansas has adopted several alcohol-related laws regarding teenagers.
In 2006, teens ages 14-20 had a total of 20,178 crashes. Of those crashes, 590 involved alcohol. Since Kansas has a legal drinking age of 21, all of the alcohol-related crashes could have been avoided by compliance with the law. Many of the crashes could have been avoided had the driver not been driving recklessly or while distracted. Teens also have a higher rate of reckless/careless and aggressive driving than any other age group. In 2007, 1,649 crashes were attributed to reckless/careless driving while another 258 were attributed to aggressive driving. These acts resulted in another 47 fatalities and 1,068 injuries.
Distractions in the vehicle are another serious cause of teen crashes. In 2007 distractions in the vehicle contributed to 1,264 crashes, 15 deaths and an additional 613 injuries. "Distractions" are defined as cell phones, electronic devices (mp3 players, DVD players, stereos, GPS units, etc.), and other distractions such as applying makeup, reading, passengers, eating food, etc. It is very important for all drivers to realize that while driving they should be doing one task and one task only; getting from point A to point B safely.
Graduated Driver's Licensing Law
Click here for information on Kansas' Graduated Driver's Licensing Law
Three Ways Parents Can Help Their Teens Be Safe On The Road
1. Enforce graduated driver’s licensing: It’s the law for a reason. GDL laws are proven effective and work by giving young drivers increasing privileges over time. This approach allows time for them to gain experience under safer conditions before they drive under more risky conditions.
Practical tips:
• Read your state’s law together and discuss why it needs to be enforced. Provide real penalties for not following GDL guidelines: take the keys.
• Be the scapegoat if your teen needs to save face. (“No way! My Dad would kill me if I did that.”)
• Work out a code word or phrase your teen can use if he is in an unsafe situation. If he calls and uses that word, you know he needs your help. (“Forgot to walk the dog? Oh, right. I’ll be right there.”)
2. Schedule lots of supervised practice driving. Teens need lots of supervised practice to become experienced and safe drivers.
Practical tips:
• Schedule plenty of time. The required 50 hours is a minimum to learn a complicated skill like driving.
• Use everyday trips. Supervise driving to soccer practice and the grocery store to practice different skills. You’ll be surprised
how quickly the hours add up if you always let your teen drive when you’re in the car together.
• Vary experiences. Teens need to learn skills on various road types under various weather conditions, as well as at nighttime.
• Keep a log. Record the number of hours you spend and the different skills you practiced.
3. Catch your teen doing it right. Teens are between being a dependent child and an independent adult. They need to hear positive reinforcement to help them become responsible adults.
Practical tips:
• Praise them when they use good judgment and obey GDL.
• Be honest. Teens can tell when you are sincere.
• When needed, discipline and let them know the reasons why. (“You are late. You broke the law and put yourself at risk of being in a crash.”)
Since 1999, the average number of alcohol-related deaths per year is 111. Overall 4.6 percent of all crashes are alcohol-related. In 2008, 34.0 percent of all fatalities were alcohol-related. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people from 15 to 18 years old. Teen drivers account for 5.6 percent of all KS registered drivers but were involved in 11.5 percent of all crashes. Six percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes were teen drivers. More teen crashes occurred between 3-4 p.m., which is more than another period during each day
Eighty-three percent of all teens involved in fatalities were not buckled up.
Seventy-nine percent of all fatal crashes involve driver contributing circumstances with the top five contributing circumstances to include: inattention, DUI, speed, failure to yield, reckless/careless driving. Teen drivers had 310 (9.2% of total) alcohol-related crashes in 2008, killing 8 (6.1%) and injuring 189 (9.5%).
Finding the right present for young adults can be challenging. While money and store certificates are always an option, with a little effort, you can select gifts that have meaning, support their passion, and will inspire them now and in the future. This page will have ideas for teen gifts as well as gifts for new and experienced drivers.
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for those between 15 and 18 years old. 83% of these fatalities caused by crashes were due to the teen not having been buckled up.
For these stats and more check out the one page report:
