November 26, 2008

Teenage Drivers – someone is waiting for you at home.
By Amy Schmidt, Injury Prevention Coordinator,
Regioinal Trauma Center, Saint Joseph's Hospital

Learning to drive is a teenage right-of-passage.  My right-of-passage included Dad yelling at me to slow down. It also included nearly colliding head on with another car. As an adult, I see teenagers driving recklessly.  As a nurse, I have seen injured teen drivers in the Emergency Department.  Is it any wonder that teen drivers are one of the highest risk populations?

Why are teenage drivers at risk?  Limited driving experience, immaturity, and risk-taking behaviors, such as excessive speed, all play a roll. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports teenage drivers have the highest crash risk of any age group, they are less likely to wear seatbelts, and per mile traveled, they have the highest involvement in motor vehicle crashes of all types.

What is causing these crashes?  According to a 2005 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15-20-year-olds primarily due to “driver inattention.”  The driver’s primary task is driving; any other activity while driving has the potential to distract the driver.

Distractions may be: cell phones, changing a CD, eating, and just plain distraction by other teenagers in the car.  In fact, fatal crashes involving 16-year-olds are more likely to occur when other teenagers are in the car and the risk increases with very additional passenger (IIHS).  A modern day hazard is text messaging.  This very real hazard involves taking the driver’s eyes off the road.  Crash and it may be your first and last crash of your life.

So what can parents do?  Your task is to provide teens with the knowledge and tools to be a safe driver.  This is harder than you might think. During 2006, 12.4 percent of all 16-to 19-year-old licensed drivers in Wisconsin had a crash – more than 1 in 8 teen drivers.

Parents, take a look at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website.  There you will find the “Wisconsin Parent Packet for Teen Drivers” which includes parent/teen contracts.

Our children learn from our example so be a role model and practice safe driving behaviors.  We wait for our kids to come home safely and they wait for us as well.