Teen drivers enter '100 Deadliest Days'
Offenses, accidents spike in summer, AAA says
Deanna Maggio in the front seat and Sarah Galehouse and Danielle Kiel in the back, all residents of Chippewa Township, demonstrate a couple years ago how teenage drivers are not supposed to load a car in Ohio if the driver is under 17. Offenses and accidents of all types spike between Memorial Day and Labor Day, according to data from the AAA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Photo illustration by BOB MOREHEAD
OHIO – Summer is here, seniors have just graduated and new drivers are on the road. We’re now entering what the American Automobile Association has dubbed “The 100 Deadliest Days” for teen drivers.
“Statistics show that teen crashes spike during the summer months because teens are out of school and on the road,” Dr. David Yang, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety executive director, said. “The Foundation’s research found that inexperience paired with greater exposure on the road could create a deadly combination for teen drivers.”
The AAA cited its own research that revealed that during the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, teen drivers are:
• 3.9 times as likely as drivers 18 or older to be involved in a crash
• 2.6 times as likely as drivers 18 or older to be involved in a fatal crash
• 4.5 times as likely as drivers 30 to 59 to be involved in a crash and
• 3.2 times as likely as drivers 30 to 59 to be involved in a fatal crash.
The AAA said fatal crashes involving teen drivers rose 10 percent from 2014 to 2015, citing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Accident injuries involving the novice drivers in 2016 were up 15 percent over 2014.
Three common factors drove the data:
• Distractions, particularly with smart phones
• Not wearing seatbelts
• Speeding
“There’s definitely an increase in teen drivers in those days,” Rittman Police Patrolman Dave Miller said. “Most are in the afternoon and evening and they have a higher rate of traffic offenses.”
Miller said that for Rittman’s part, officers are focusing on traffic offenses to try to drive home to young drivers the need to be safer, including proper phone use, although he added that Rittman isn’t seeing the issue there other communities are.
“We will be watching for cell phone use with teen drivers,” Miller said. “To be honest, though, we haven’t had much of a cell phone problem here.”
He encouraged young people not to wait for the flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror to clear up misunderstandings.
“We encourage anybody to stop by the Rittman Police Department and we’ll answer any questions they may have,” Miller said.
“Statistics show that teen crashes spike during the summer months because teens are out of school and on the road,” Dr. David Yang, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety executive director, said. “The Foundation’s research found that inexperience paired with greater exposure on the road could create a deadly combination for teen drivers.”
The AAA cited its own research that revealed that during the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, teen drivers are:
• 3.9 times as likely as drivers 18 or older to be involved in a crash
• 2.6 times as likely as drivers 18 or older to be involved in a fatal crash
• 4.5 times as likely as drivers 30 to 59 to be involved in a crash and
• 3.2 times as likely as drivers 30 to 59 to be involved in a fatal crash.
The AAA said fatal crashes involving teen drivers rose 10 percent from 2014 to 2015, citing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Accident injuries involving the novice drivers in 2016 were up 15 percent over 2014.
Three common factors drove the data:
• Distractions, particularly with smart phones
• Not wearing seatbelts
• Speeding
“There’s definitely an increase in teen drivers in those days,” Rittman Police Patrolman Dave Miller said. “Most are in the afternoon and evening and they have a higher rate of traffic offenses.”
Miller said that for Rittman’s part, officers are focusing on traffic offenses to try to drive home to young drivers the need to be safer, including proper phone use, although he added that Rittman isn’t seeing the issue there other communities are.
“We will be watching for cell phone use with teen drivers,” Miller said. “To be honest, though, we haven’t had much of a cell phone problem here.”
He encouraged young people not to wait for the flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror to clear up misunderstandings.
“We encourage anybody to stop by the Rittman Police Department and we’ll answer any questions they may have,” Miller said.