Accidents Happen

Around 230 million people in the US drive daily. Over 8.3 million of those drivers are teenagers. Of that 8.3 million, around 5.6 million of those teens get in car crashes. In fact, people from the ages of 16 to 19 cause most of the 6 million car crashes that occur in the US per year. Teens are actually three times more likely to get into car crashes than drivers over the age of 20. The number one cause of crashes in the US is when drivers are distracted from the road ahead of them, whether that be mentally or physically. However the number one cause for crashes caused by teenagers is driving under the influence. 

When someone gets behind a wheel while intoxicated, they get distracted easily and usually don’t realize that they’re speeding and swerving on the road. The most dangerous part about driving drunk is that the driver’s reaction time will be much slower than it would be if they were sober. So, if they’re speeding and a car pulls out in front of them, they aren’t gonna stop and, even if they try to, they’ll hit the other car before coming to a complete stop. Even if a driver isn’t drunk, speeding is still very dangerous. A lot of speeding occurs because drivers aren’t paying attention to the road, but instead paying attention to their phone or radio. Some teens even do their makeup on the way to school or another event and end up hitting another car because they’re looking in the mirror instead of at the road. A lot of teens end up speeding because they’re late to school. An easy fix for this would be waking up earlier. Not to mention the Lucy Beckham parking lot. There have been around 5 fender benders in the school parking lot alone. There have been more just outside of it at the stop lights as people are leaving. 

In summary, while teen drivers account for many of the accidents on the road they can change their behaviors and take steps to be more proactive ,conscientious drivers. Taking driving courses like defensive driving can help them gain the skills they need to prevent accidents. Putting their phone on silent to prevent the distraction of messages or notifications is also a step that can be taken. All accidents are preventable and teens must do their part. 

https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html 

https://www.mesothelioma-law-pittsburgh.com/blog/2022/08/what-are-the-top-5-causes-of-car-accidents/