Eight Danger Zones
1. Driver inexperience
Most crashes happen during the first year a teen has a license. Provide at least 65 hours of supervised driving practice over at least six months.
2. Driving with teen passengers
Crash risk goes up when teens drive with other teens in the car. Follow the state's teen driving law for passenger restrictions. Limit the number of teen passengers your child can have to zero or one. Keep this rule for at least the first 6 months.
3. Nighttime driving
For all ages, fatal crashes are more likely to occur at night; but the rish is highest for teens. Follow the state's teen driving law and make sure your teen is off the road between 11pm and 5am while they have a junior driver's license.
4. Not using seat belts
The simplest way to prevent car crash deaths is to buckle up. Require teen to wear a seat belt on every trip. This simple step can reduce your teen's risk of dying or being badly injured in a crash by about half.
5. Distracted driving
Distractions increase your teen's risk of being in a crash. Don't allow activites that may take your teen's attention away from driving, such as talking on a cell phone, texting, eating, or playing with the radio.
6. Drowsy driving
Young drivers are at highest risk for drowsy driving, which causes thousands of crashes every year.
7. Reckless driving
Research shows that teens lack the experience, judgment, and maturity to assess risky situations. Help your teen avoid the following unsafe behaviors. Speeding, Tailgating, Insufficient Scanning.
8. Impaired driving
Even one drink will impair your teen's driving ability and increase the risk of a crash. Be a good role model: don't drink and drive and reinforce this message with your teens.
Shocking Statistics
- Motor vehicle crashes remain the No. 1 cause of death for adolescents.
- The greatest lifetime chance of crashing occurs in the first 6 months after licensure.
- The overwhelming majority(75 percent) of teen driver crashes are due to a "critical error" with three common errors accounting for nearly half of these crashes:
- Lack of scanning that is needed to detect and respond to hazards.
- Going too fast for road conditions
-Being distracted by something inside or outside of the vehicle. - Enviornmental conditions, such as poor weather, vehicle malfunction, or aggressive driving, and drowsy driving are not primary factors in most teen crashes.
- The fatal crash rate for drivers ages 16 to 19, based on miles driven, is four times higher than for drivers ages 25 to 69.
- Teen passengers and cell phones are two distractions proven to kill teens.
- Seven percent of teens surveyed have been the driver in at least one crash where someone needed medical attention.
- One-fourth of all 9th through 11th graders have been in a crash as passenger where someone needed medical attention.
Parents Resources
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A & B Driving School
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
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A & B Driving School has been serving Southeastern Delaware County since 1960! We offer behind the wheel lessons as well as an online course that is approved by the Pennsylvania Board of Education.