While auto accidents can happen any time, the 100 days from Memorial Day to Labor Day are considered the deadliest days on the road. This time is dangerous for lots of reasons, including increased summer travel, but as a car accident lawyer I have seen the summer months as especially risky for teenage drivers and their passengers.
Car crashes are a leading cause of death for teens, and teen accident rates increase when school is out and they are spending more time in their cars.
Why Are Teen Auto Accident Risks Higher in the Summer?
CNN recently reported on the time period known as the 100 deadliest days. According to the article, in 2012, 1,000 people died in crashes involving teen drivers between Memorial Day and Labor Day. More than 550 of the victims who died, were teen drivers.
According to CNN, the National Safety Council found teens face a high crash risk because they are not only driving more often, they usually drive for recreational purposes during the summer. During the school year teens primarily drive to and from school and work activities. In the summer, they drive more and go to various places like the beach or shopping. The driving may be on less familiar roads and they can be distracted by looking at map apps on their phones or the car’s GPS instead of paying attention to the road.
Teens are also more likely to be in the car with friends in the summer driving to recreational activities. The more passengers there are in a car with a teen driver, the greater the risk of a collision as passengers are a continuous distraction. When a teen driver has even one passenger in the car, the risk of a fatal accident rises by 44 percent.
Many people believe it is more dangerous for teens to have passengers in the car than it is for them to talk or text on the phone. This is because texting is an intermittent distraction, while passengers in the car are a continuous distraction.
Research from University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center reported on by CNN backs up this theory. The researchers installed cameras in the cars of 52 high school aged drivers who agreed to participate in the experiment. The cameras revealed that when there was loud conversation in the car, teen drivers were six times as likely to be forced to make an evasive maneuver to avoid a crash than when there were no passengers. If there was horseplay going on in the vehicle, the teen drivers were three times as likely to need to engage in evasive maneuvers to avoid an accident.
Teens often put themselves, and others, in jeopardy. If passengers or other motorists are injured by a teen driver, the victims of the accident can pursue a claim for damages.
How a Long Beach Car Accident Lawyer Can Help
Your Injuries are Personal to Me
I am a Long Beach car accident attorney. If you have been injured in an auto accident, call the Law Office of Michael D. Waks at 888-394-1174 or use the convenient online contact form to schedule a free consultation to learn how I can help you. You will be under no obligation and you will never pay any money unless you recover compensation for your losses.
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