3 Of The Main Factors That Contribute To Teen Car Crashes

While it is true that young adults do cause a significant number of crashes, plenty of adults with years of driving experience also make very unsafe choices in traffic.

Ultimately, teen drivers have a lot to learn and probably need the support of their parents to be as safe as possible on the road. Helping teens understand the three primary factors that contribute to a massive number of teen driving crashes could potentially help them avoid such collisions.

Inexperience

The number one reason that teen drivers cause preventable crashes is simply a lack of experience on the road. They don’t know what to do in unusual situations, and they end up making the wrong choice. A lack of experience could prevent a teen from performing the right maneuver when an animal steps into the road, for example. The only way to overcome this particular challenge is to get as much time at the wheel as possible.

Distracted driving

Discussions about distracted driving and teenagers often limit the focus of the conversation to the use of technology at the wheel. There’s a little question that texting while driving is unsafe for drivers of all ages. However, teen drivers are at risk of many other forms of distraction, including distraction caused by peer passengers. Many of the worst team crashes occur with multiple other young adults in the vehicle.

Chemical impairment

Young adults often experience intense peer pressure to experiment with mind-altering substances. Alcohol and a variety of drugs are easy to obtain at many high schools and parties where young adults are present. Teen drivers who already lack experience at the wheel could very easily end up losing control of a vehicle when they also have a substance impeding their ability to drive safely.

Parents who institute appropriate rules for young drivers and who encourage them to make safety a top priority could help reduce the chance of their young adult causing a deadly collision.