October Is A Dangerous Month For Teen Drivers

According to many sources, October is the month that is most fraught with accidents and injuries for teen drivers. With that in mind, I thought it might be appropriate to share some statistics about teen drivers with you. As you will see, a 16 year old driver is certainly much more dangerous than a 17 year old. Therefore, parents must be really vigilant to help their teens through their first year of driving.

Let’s start with traffic tickets. This is the one area where the 16 year old drivers have a slight advantage. This is because it takes time for some young drivers to develop the confidence to begin speeding. In addition, many teens wait to obtain their license so that there are not as many 16 year drivers on the road as there are 17 and 18 year old drivers.

Here are the numbers on traffic citations. This lists the number of citations per 100 drivers for each age:

16 year old drivers 31 per 100
17 year old drivers 36.6 per 100
18 year old drivers 38.9 per 100
All ages 17.3 per 100

Now let’s take a look at the crash rates for teen drivers. This is the number teens involved in an accident per 1000 drivers.

16 year old drivers 61.4 per 1000
17 year old drivers 46.2 per 1000
18 year old driver 45.4 per 1000
All ages 16.8 per 1000

Said another way, the crash rates for 16 year olds is 3.7 times that of 20 years olds and the crash rates of drivers between ages 16 and 19 is 2.7 times higher than that of all other drivers.

Last of all, I want to take a quick look at what causes the accidents with teen drivers.
As you can see, the primary cause of accidents by teen drivers is unsafe speeds.
Unsafe Speed or Speeding 35.3%
Right of Way 20.4%
Improper Turn 14.8%
Sign or Signal 8.1%
Alcohol or Drugs 5.1%
Passing or Lane Change 4.3%
Wrong Side of the Road 3.1%
Other 8.7%

There are many tools you can use to help keep your child safe while he or she gains the valuable experience needed to be a safe driver. Visit www.TeenDriverInsurance.com/clinard for more information or simply read some of my previous blog postings as I have covered a lot of these techniques in this blog already.

Before Your Teen Takes Out The Car, Teach Them To Do A Safety Check.

Before your teen begins driving, you should demonstrate fro them how to perform a quick safety check of the vehicle. Now is a good time to have a brief discussion about vehicle maintenance. Explain basic maintenance items such as when oil changes are due and proper tire inflation. Verify that all lights and turn signals are functioning properly and free of obstruction.

Safety Tip: Minimum Gas Levels. For emergency purposes, teach your teen to keep at least ¼ tank of gas in the car at all times. You do not want them running out of gas in an unsafe area. Additionally, you will avoid the frustration of having to unexpectedly stop for gas when your teen has been driving your car.

Safety Tip: Hazard lights. Make sure your teen knows how to locate and turn on the hazard lights in each of your cars!Familiarize your teen with the location and operation of the vehicle controls. It is important that your teen is comfortable in the driver’s seat. Today’s newer cars are capable of adjusting the seat, mirrors, steering wheel, brake pedal and accelerator. Review proper operation of the heater, air conditioning, cruise control and wiper blades.
Safety Tip: Dashboard Gauges! Explain the dashboard gauges and their purpose. Taking the time to explain the gauges will help maintain the vehicle in proper working condition. Furthermore, it may save you a large repair bill. After all, the time for your teen to understand the temperature gauge is not after the car has overheated! Another good habit to form is maintaining a mileage log. The log should detail the date, miles on the vehicle, the number of gallons of gas added and the miles per gallon obtained on the prior tank of gas. With many cars yo you can do this automatically by teaching your child to reset the gas mileage counter after each fillup. When the gas mileage decreases it is an early warning signal that the engine needs maintenance.

Safety Tip: Changing Tires. I strongly recommend that you have your teen change a tire before he/she obtains their license. With the prevalence of cell phones, many parents assume their teen can call them or AAA for assistance. Depending on the location and time of day, it may take 2-3 hours before assistance can arrive.

Safety Tip: Tire jacks can KILL! Practice with them the proper use and ‘placement of the jack”. People die from this every year. Don’t forget to show them how to chock the tires.
Safety Tip: It is very dangerous to change a tire on the highway. Call the state police to assure drivers move over and the safety of your teen.

Safety Tip: Emergency Kits. Maintain an Emergency kit in the trunk complete with: flares, a flashlight and batteries. Practice lighting flares.
Insurance Tip: Roadside Service is part of the Teensurance Program from Safeco. Help will be dispatched to help change tires or even deliver gas! For more information on the Teensurance Program, visit my web site at www.TeenDriverInsurance.com/Clinard.


I Hope this helps your family and brings everyone home safely!