Teenagers appreciate the newfound freedom a driver’s license provides, and they often want to take to the road to enjoy festivities when summer arrives. However, this comes with potential dangers, and adults should warn younger persons about the hazards associated with the 100 days of summer driving.
Summer driving risks
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety presents surprising figures about fatal teenage accidents. During the summer months from 2010 to 2019, 7,000 people lost their lives in crashes involving teen drivers. Sometimes, inexperience leads to collisions, as a younger driver might not know how to deal with certain traffic or road conditions. Other times, recklessness plays a role. Two of the top reasons for such crashes are speeding and distracted driving.
Speeding ranks as one of the most common moving violations, likely because it’s very easy to press down on the gas when impatient or agitated. That does not make speeding legal, nor anything less than dangerous. Anyone who operates a vehicle traveling above speed limits may not react in time when needing to make a sudden stop. Also, a speeding vehicle’s velocity might cause a far worse crash than a car moving slower.
Distracted driving does not always have to be a complicated behavior. Even turning one’s head to ask a passenger a question might be enough distraction to cause an accident. That said, drivers who pay more attention to an infotainment screen or want to rubberneck when the police give someone a citation may tie their attention up for an extended period long enough to make avoiding an accident challenging.
Car crashes an liabilities
Unfortunately, some young drivers operate vehicles recklessly even when receiving helpful advice about safe driving. Teenagers whose reckless behaviors results in injury to another person could face a personal injury lawsuit. Victims may seek punitive damages when the teen’s actions are particularly reckless.