Indiana Injury And Family Lawyer BlogSpeed: A Deadly Factor in Indiana Teen Driving Accidents
We’re currently in the middle of the most dangerous time for teenagers to be behind the wheel. According to USA TODAY, the most dangerous months for our newly-licensed drivers are from June through November. August is the most dangerous month of all, holding 4 of the deadliest days for our young motorists.In the month of August, the 1st, 2nd, 14th and 29th are the most dangerous, all of them seeing more than 14 teenage fatalities in the last few years.
Our Highland car accident attorneys understand that there are many factors that put our newly-licensed drivers at risk for fatal traffic collisions. Two of the most common that we see are driving under the influence and distracted driving. While those are the factors that get the most attention, we’re forgetting about one big one — speeding!
Did you know that speed was a factor in roughly a third of all fatal teen car accidents in 2011? And that’s a number that has been on the rise since 2000.
According to a recent study from the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA), there were close to 20,000 speed-related accidents in the U.S. among teen drivers from 2000 to 2011.
Still, car accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for teens not only in Florida, but elsewhere throughout the nation.
According to Susan Ferguson, a highway consultant who authored the report, if we’re going to make progress is helping our teens to driver safer, then we’re going to have to put more emphasis on speed limits.
Believe it or not, but about half of all fatal accidents that involve a 16-year-old driver with three of more passengers in the vehicle is speed-related.
And the worst offenders are our younger males. They’re more likely than any other driver to speed out there.
So how can parents and guardians help? Encouraging teens to develop the right attitudes today can lead to a lifetime of safety. Involved, informed parents have long been considered the most influential factor in promoting safe teen driving.
-Sit down and talk with your child about the importance of following all road laws and regulations.
-Make sure you’re providing your child with plenty of supervised driving time. By keeping an eye on their developing habits, you can help to steer them into the right direction and a lifetime of safe navigation.
-Consider creating a parent-teen driving contract. Lay out all of the driving rules you deem necessary and make sure the consequences for breaking these rules are included.
-Remind your young drivers to keep their eyes on the road. No distraction is worth losing a life.
-Keep communicating your expectations for their driving. Keeping the idea fresh in their mind will help them to perform better behind the wheel.
Attorney Burton A. Padove represents traffic accident victims. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, call (219) 836-2200 for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights.
More Blog Entries:
Indiana Traffic Safety Watch – Drunk Driving, Prom and Graduation, Indiana Injury and Family Lawyer Blog, April 23, 2013
Avoiding Bicycle Accidents This Summer Season, Indiana Injury and Family Lawyer Blog, April 8, 2013