There’s just no arguing with the statistics on teens and driving. The numbers are scary, and they’re real.
- Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, killing between 5,000 and 6,000 teenagers every year for the past decade.
- From 1994 to 2003, a total of 57,142 teenagers were killed in motor vehicle crashes.
Even with Driver’s Education classes and supervised driver training, the crash rates remain very high. Add to that the statistical reality that it takes a minimum of 2 years and 20,000 miles of experience to begin to sway the odds.
And it’s not “dare devils” and “troubled teens” who make up the majority of teen drivers involved in accidents. The culprits here are, quite simply, a lack of driving experience combined with the average expectable tendency of the teenage brain to react dangerously quickly in driving situations.
While the statistics are frightening, they are empowering, too. Studies tell us that there are clear risk factors that drastically increase the chances of a crash. The good news is that by managing these high risk situations and driving with caution, the number of accidents involving teen drivers is genuinely reduced.
These are the factors that have been shown to affect both the incidence of crashes and the outcome when an accident does occur.
- Teen Passengers
- Night driving
- Type of car
- Drugs and alcohol
- Seatbelts
- Road conditions
And here’s another powerful piece in the puzzle: Gradually increasing driving challenges, as experience and skills are gained, reduces accidents. It works! It’s proven! It’ll help keep your teen – and others – safe. In some states, it’s written right into the law. Even if your state does not have a strong graduated driver’s licensing program, you can create one for use in your family.
A Graduated Driver’s License Contract takes the facts and puts them to work to help keep new drivers accident-free. As experience is gained, the scope of driving conditions expands. Parents and teens are in communication throughout this process to assess progress and revise the plan accordingly.
What are the stages in a graduated licensing contract?
- Learner’s Permit: Parents make a commitment to provide 50 hours of driving supervision in increasingly challenging conditions. Recommended minimum age: 16. Continue for six months before applying for a license.
- Newly Licensed: Risk conditions like carrying passengers, driving at night, driving in challenging weather conditions, and high speed driving are only added to the teen’s scope of driving after set periods of time and after the skills to safely manage these challenges have been demonstrated during supervised driving practice. The Newly Licensed phase extends to age 18, with the scope of driving conditions increasing during that time.
- Full Licensure: Age 18.
Learn more…
Know The Statistics on Teen Drivers
For members: Log in and visit the Parenting Toolbox for a Graduated License Driving Contract that you can use with the new drivers in your family.