Motor vehicle accident is one of the leading causes of death among teens in the U.S. According to a report, road accidents caused a loss of 2,163 lives aged between 16 and 19 during 2013. Besides, nearly 243,243 teens were taken to the emergency room for injuries suffered in a motor accident.
Teenagers represent only 14 percent of the total population in the U.S., yet they account for a major part of the total costs of the motor vehicle injuries.
What Makes Teens at Higher Risk of Accidents?
The probability of accidents is much higher among people aged 16-19 than older age group. A study reveals drivers aged 16-19 are three times more likely to meet a fatal accident than drivers who are 20 or over. It is mainly due to the reason that teens usually underestimate hazardous situations or fail to recognize a danger. Besides, keeping shorter headways, over-speeding, drunk driving, and low rate of seat belt use are some other causes of higher rate of collision among teenagers.
How Can We Prevent Injuries and Deaths Among Teenage Drivers?
Encourage the Use of Seat Belts
According to a study, over 50 percent teenagers died in motor vehicle accidents in 2013 were not using seat belts at the time of the incident. Seat belts can reduce fatal injuries and deaths by 50 percent. However, it is important that we encourage teenagers to use seat belts to avoid fatal injuries in the event of an accident.
Discourage Drunk Driving
While laws for minimum legal drinking age and zero blood-alcohol tolerance for drivers below 21 years of age already exist, there is need for stricter action to enforce the law and prevent young people from drunk driving.
Strict Action on Graduate Driver Licensing (GDL) Program
Driving is a complex task that needs judgment along with necessary driving skills. The lack of driving experience and risk-taking tendency commonly put teenagers at heightened risks of collisions. Keeping that in view, GDL program aims at building better skills and astuteness among young drivers to prevent them from risk taking behaviors and encourage them to take wiser decisions on the road.
Studies claim that introducing more comprehensive GDL programs may reduce fatal and injury crashes by 38 and 40 percent, respectively. It’s important that teenage drivers and parents become more aware of GDL laws in their state to promote a safer and more perceptive driving behavior.
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