Serve As A Role Model For Younger Drivers—

AAA: After-School Hours Are Just As Dangerous As Weekend Nights For Teen Drivers

Parents may worry about their teen driving on Friday and Saturday evenings, but a AAA study shows another time of the week — after school — can be just as dangerous for young drivers.

A new analysis of teen crash data has found that nearly as many 16- and 17-year -old drivers were involved in fatal crashes between 3 and 5 pm Mondays through Fridays as they were on Friday and Saturday nights between 9 pm and 2 am.

The data comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from 2002 through 2005. The analysis, which compared two ten-hour blocks of the week, also disclosed that:

éOn weekday afternoons, 1,100 drivers ages 16 and 17 were involved in fatal crashes, with 478 of them killed;

éOn weekend evenings, 1,237 drivers ages 16 and 17 were involved in fatal crashes, with 543 killed.

High afternoon figures may be attributed to several reasons:

After school is a time when many teens drive home, to jobs, and to sports or other activities. It is also during these unstructured hours from the end of school and when parents get home from work that many teens can do dangerous things behind the wheel in cars loaded with passengers.

It is also a time when there is increased traffic on the road with other commuters making trips. This makes driving more difficult for inexperienced teen drivers and less forgiving when they do make mistakes.

Parents should be worried about novice teen drivers being on the road during these periods. They are considered a high-risk group because of lack of experience in complex driving circumstances, poor judgment, inadequate driving skills, and risky behavior.

Currently, 44 states, including Connecticut, have implemented night-driving limits for new teen drivers, an action that has drawn attention to teen crash risks at late night hours. Thirty-five states, including Connecticut, also limit the number of teen passengers that a new driver can transport.

Even so, parents can play a key role in going beyond state laws by diligently monitoring their teens’ afternoon driving as they would do so on a Friday or Saturday night. As a result, AAA/Connecticut Motor Club recommends the following:

éParents should set very clear driving rules with their teen. Following the rules can leads to a teen gradually increasing the driving he or she may do. Breaking the rules should lead to fewer liberties.

éMake sure teens comply with Connecticut state law that prohibits new drivers from carrying passengers during the first three months of driving and banning cellphones while driving unless it is an emergency.

As the number of young passengers is increased within a car, crash rates increase drastically for 16- and 17-year-old drivers. Teens, as do adults, have trouble managing distractions while driving.

éDon’t let teens to ride with a new teen driver. Carpooling seems like a sensible way for teens to ride to school, home, and activities, but it can promote risky passenger behavior. Research shows that it is more dangerous for several teens to ride in one car than to drive individually in multiple vehicles.

éMake sure kids are aware with Connecticut state law, which bans the use of cellphones while driving, unless it is an emergency.

éRequire your teen to wear a seat belt every time he or she rides in a car. Teens have the lowest belt use rate of any age group, a tragic irony given that new teen drivers have the highest crash rates.

It is also the law. Parents can remind their teens that Connecticut law calls for all drivers and front seat passengers to always wear safety belts, and all rear seat passengers ages 4–16 must also wear seatbelts.

éMake your rules known to other adults in your teen’s life.

A parent-to-parent agreement with your teen driver’s friends can establish standard rules among a group of teenagers, making gradual licensure easier for everyone. Letting your neighbors know your teen’s driving rules can give you an extra set of eyes when you are not around.

éServe as a role model to your young driver. If you speed, tailgate, run red lights, or talk on a cellphone while driving, your teen probably will too.