Ten Things Parent's Don't know About Teen Driving


National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW) takes place on Oct. 20-26, 2013. This year's theme is "It Takes Two: Shared Expectations for Teens and Parents for Driving."  And a surprising number of parents don't know that car crashes are the LEADING cause of teen deaths in America ... that the most DANGEROUS time in teenagers' lives is the first year after getting their license ... or that teenager's risk of crashing is THREE TIMES higher than for people older than 20.
 
Only a quarter or parents think thier kids text and drive ... but HALF of all teens admit to doing it. Here's a list of the top ten things parents DON'T know about teen driver safety.

  1.  Car crashes are the TOP cause of death for Amercian teenagers.
  2. The most dangerous time of a teenager's life is the FIRST 12 MONTHS after getting a driver's license.
  3. A teenager's risk of crashing is THREE TIMES higher than for people over 20.
  4. Most crashes involving teenage drivers are because of inexperience, NOT recklessness.
  5. A single teenage passenger raises the fatal crash risk for a teenage driver by 44 percent. And three or more passengers QUADRUPLES the risk.
  6. Most fatal nighttime crashes for teen drivers happen between 9 p.m. and midnight.
  7. More than half of all teens killed in car crashes were not wearing seatbelts.
  8. Most states' driving restrictions don't give adequate protection to teenage drivers.
  9. 80 percent of all teens say their PARENTS influence their driving habits the most.
  10. The risk of crashing for young driver doesnt't start to decrease significantly until they get to be 25 years old.