Teen driver safety week

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Even though just 5% of drivers are teenagers, according to the National Road Safety Foundation, adolescents account for 8.5% of all fatal collisions. Experts are talking about the safety dangers facing the youngest drivers in the country during National Teen Driver Safety Week.

According to David Reich of the National Road Safety Foundation, inexperience is a major risk factor for young drivers. Parents need to have these conversations with their young drivers, according to him.

According to Reich, teen drivers were involved in distraction-related crashes in 60% of cases. These diversions could be everything from texting to switching the radio or talking to other passengers while driving.

Reich stated, “There can be really tragic consequences if there are other kids in the car, even just talking and having fun. That can be a distraction.” “If you’re traveling at highway speed, you’ve traveled the length of a football field and you’ve been looking away from the road during those three or four seconds.”

Reich advises drivers to be mindful of their speed. A quarter of all fatal crashes in the country are caused by speed.

It is imperative that parents serve as excellent “driving role models” for their children. They might unintentionally promote unsafe driving practices.

“They might be aware that it’s improper if they have witnessed us driving carelessly over the years, including when we have tailgated, sped, blown stop signs, and texted while driving. However, youngsters might assume that “Mom or dad does it.” So I suppose it’s alright,” Reich remarked.

Reich recognizes the difficulty parents have while allowing their children to drive. He claims that this is the reason these conversations are so crucial.

“Even though my son is forty years old now, I still can’t fall asleep until I hear that car pull up in front of the house when he’s home visiting.”

Thirty-five drivers, aged eighteen and under, have lost their lives in crashes on average during the past five years. Thirty teenagers had lost their lives in crashes in Iowa as of Friday, the day we obtained this information.