Skip to main content

Coalitions Find the Keys to Safer Teen Driving

States with a Teen Safe Driving Coalition have lowered the number of car crashes involving teen drivers by 34 percent.

The Short of It

Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens and half of all teens will be involved in a car crash before graduating high school, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). But states with a Teen Safe Driving Coalition have lowered the number of car crashes involving young drivers by 34 percent.

The Lowdown

Established by the NSC and The Allstate Foundation, Teen Safe Driving Coalitions have worked at the grassroots level to educate parents and kids about the risks of teen driving and offer solutions for parents to help teens be safer. Comprised of state and local government, law enforcement, public health agencies, traffic safety and injury prevention organizations, academia, businesses, teens, parents and crash survivors, the coalitions exist in California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.
In states with the coalitions, the number of crashes involving 15- to 17- year-old drivers has dropped nearly 34 percent since the coalitions were established four years ago. Non-coalition states, however, have only experienced a 19.5 percent drop, according to NSC analysis of federal fatality data.
The coalitions' success can be attributed in part to the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program, which has reduced teen drivers' crash risk by 20 to 40 percent. It works by focusing on new drivers slowly gaining experience driving with less exposure to high-risk scenarios, such as nighttime driving and carrying teen passengers. All 50 states and D.C. have some form of GDL.
"Remember, it's not whether teens are 'good kids' or 'responsible.' New drivers share one thing in common—lack of experience," says Kathy Bernstein, senior manager of teen driving initiatives, NSC. "The more practice driving teens get, the better."

The Upshot

For parents who live in states where the Teen Safe Driving Coalitions don't exist, they can still take part in keeping their kids safe.
"As the No. 1 resource when it comes to teaching teens to drive, parents should stay involved well after teens get their licenses," says Bernstein.
She suggests that parents should:
  • Ride with teens a minimum of 30 minutes weekly, even after they receive their license, to ensure they're using safe driving skills.
  • Talk with teens about managing distractions, such as phones, the radio, other passengers, and roadside scenery.
  • Give teens extra opportunities to learn nighttime driving skills with an adult supervisor in the car.
  • Practice safe habits themselves.
  • Visit the Drive it Home site for resources, such as the New Driver Deal, a contract that parents and teens can create together that outlines household driving rules and the consequences for breaking them.
 Ellen Sturm Niz/ Parenting Magazine

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dealing with Grief

Below are some sites that can help you cope with the grieving process. Death and Grief Teen Grief Support Help for Teens Teens and Grief Support for Grieving Teens Grief Speaks: Death of a Friend
Post a Comment
Read more

2014 Billboard Music Award Winners

The Billboard Music Awards were aired last night. Here is the list of the winners: TOP ARTIST: Justin Timberlake TOP 100 HOT SONG: "Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke (featuring T.I. & Pharrell) TOP BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM: "The 20/20 Experience," Justin Timberlake TOP DUO/GROUP: Imagine Dragons TOP NEW ARTIST: Lorde TOP TOURING ARTIST: Bon Jovi TOP MALE ARTIST: Justin Timberlake TOP FEMALE ARTIST: Katy Perry TOP HOT 100 ARTIST: Imagine Dragons TOP BILLBOARD 200 ARTIST: Justin Timberlake TOP DIGITAL SONGS ARTIST: Katy Perry TOP RADIO SONGS ARTIST: Justin Timberlake TOP SOCIAL ARTIST: Justin Bieber TOP STREAMING ARTIST: Miley Cyrus TOP R&B ARTIST: Justin Timberlake TOP RAP ARTIST: Eminem TOP COUNTRY ARTIST: Luke Bryan TOP ROCK ARTIST: Imagine Dragons TOP LATIN ARTIST: Marc Anthony TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST: Daft Punk TOP CHRISTIAN ARTIST: Chris Tomlin TOP R&B ALBUM: "The 20/20 Experience," Justin Timberlake ...
Post a Comment
Read more

RECENT YA RELEASES SET IN THE 1990S

  Tirzah Price   Sep 6, 2023 The 1990s are alive and well with Gen Z! While it might be simple to say that the ’90s are so popular because of the fashion aesthetics or easy access to ’90s pop culture (thanks, internet!), I think the ’90s are such an interesting time period to explore for today’s teens because they look back on a time (although not so long ago!) where our lives didn’t center around the constant connection of phones, social media, and the internet. While some things have changed, we’re still facing a lot of the same social issues, but in different contexts. YA books set in the 1990s aren’t exactly scarce thanks, likely, to many millennials’ nostalgia, but here are three more recent YA releases set in the 1990s for your TBR! BE THAT WAY  BY HOPE LARSON Set in 1996, this novel follows Christine, who makes a resolution to be the shiny, cool girl that people will actually want to hang out with — like her best friend. But when a falling out and a misstep le...
Post a Comment
Read more