Protecting Chicago Teens from Driving Risks This Spring and Summer
In Chicago and surrounding areas including Evanston, Wilmette and Highland Park, many teenagers are excited to get their license for the first time. A personal injury lawyer knows that these young drivers are often unprepared to behave in a safe way on the roads. Teens can become involved in a motor vehicle collision and can suffer serious injury or cause injury to others.
Recently, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted a large-scale assessment of naturalistic data from collisions involving teenage drivers. The study involved review of video evidence collected from thousands of crashes involving teenagers.
Past research using naturalistic data has only relied on a small number of collisions. A review of this broader body of data made it possible to provide more information on some of the top driver safety issues affecting young people. With prom season, spring break and summer vacation all occurring around this time of year or soon in the future, parents and teens should take some time to review the major driving risks and to develop a plan for staying safe.
Teen Driver Safety Issues
Around 963,000 teenage drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 were involved in motor vehicle collisions in 2013 that were reported to the police. In total, 383,000 young people were injured and 2,865 were killed in these collisions.
Speed was one of the major factors identified as a driving risk for young people. The research showed the teen driver was going too fast for the conditions of the road in 79 percent of single vehicle collisions. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the teen was exceeding the speed limit; just that he or she was going too fast to be safe based on what was going on around him on the roads.
Following too closely behind another driver was a factor in 36 percent of rear-end accidents, while 43 percent of angle or T-bone accidents involved drivers who had failed to yield.
Distracted driving was a big issue for young people. The teen driver was inattentive in 44 percent of collisions caused by a loss of driver control. In 89 percent of collisions where a teen left the road, the young driver was distracted. Finally, around 51 percent of T-bone crashes had a distracted teen driver.
Talking on a cell phone was a factor in approximately 12 percent of crashes.
One of the biggest causes of teen driving distraction was being distracted by passengers. Passengers were in the vehicle with the driver in a total of 36 percent of all collisions with teen drivers. Having more people in the car is one of the most dangerous things that a young driver can do, as the more passengers there are in the vehicle the greater the risk of an accident happening.
Decision-errors were also a factor in 66 percent of teen collisions. These decision-errors addressed things like running stop signs or not yielding the right-of-way. Parents should spend time driving with their children and talk to them about how to make safe choices behind the wheel to avoid crashes.
After an injury, contact the Deratany Firm at 800-529-7285. Serving Chicago and surrounding areas including Evanston, Wilmette and Highland Park.Â
