Catawba County News

Teen Driver Safety Week

Published: October 25, 2019

National Teen Driver Safety Week is October 20th through 26th.   It’s easy to say that teen drivers are bad drivers.  In reality, they are inexperienced, not necessarily bad drivers.  Truth be told, they have probably learned some bad driving habits from us, the adults that are supposed to be the example!  Distracted driving causes most car crashes and is normally avoidable by simple changes in behavior.  The problem is that we don’t always know we are doing it!  It’s time to take a look at our habits to make our roads a safer place!

The Facts

• Car crashes are the leading cause of teenage deaths.
• Drivers ages 16 and 17 are 9x more likely to have a crash than middle age drivers.
• 61% of teenagers admit to risky driving behaviors. 

There is good news!!  We can change it together.  This National Teen Driver Safety Week, and every week, let’s be a good example for our teens.  Below are some tips to change our habits.

• Keep your eyes on the road!  Whoever texted, called, or emailed can wait!
• If you need to use the GPS, program the address before the car has started and have it talk to you so you don’t have to look at the screen.
• Eating, drinking, and grooming can wait until you get there.  Keep your hands on the wheel and ready to react to any situation. 
• Avoid phone calls while driving.  Even hands-free phone calls distract your mind.

When our teens start driving, there need to be safety rules in place and enforced.  Keep in mind that we are putting inexperienced drivers in a large weapon if we don’t teach them how to use it properly!

• No cell phones while driving.  As a matter of fact, it’s not legal for teens under the age of 18 to use their phone while driving unless there is an emergency.  That includes texting, email, and social media.
• No extra passengers.  The more passengers there are in a vehicle, the greater the chance of a crash.  AAA states that the risk of a teen driver being killed with passengers in the car increases by 44% with 1 passenger younger than 21 and quadruples when carrying 3 or more passengers under the age of 21.
• No speeding.
• No alcohol.
• Always buckle up.

It may be Teen Driver Safety Week but we can all take a few minutes to learn to be safer drivers!