Most teenage car accidents caused by inexperience, distraction

Last week one of our Florida personal injury attorneys wrote about how the number one cause of death for teenagers is car accidents and that nearly 40 percent of fatal teenage car accidents involve drinking and driving. Recently, a new study has found that the vast majority of teenage car accidents both fatal and non-fatal are caused by inexperience and distraction. The new finding may also show just how dangerous the combination of alcohol and driving is for young drivers. In this post we will discuss some of the other findings of the new study on teenage car accidents.

According to the director of the epidemiology and biostatistics at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia the importance of the new study is that it shows the majority of teenage car accidents occur because teenage drivers do not have the required skill set to be behind the wheel and not because they are engaging in bad behavior or reckless driving.

The new study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and State Farm Insurance reviewed around 800 teenage car crashes from around the country and found that over 75 percent of teen crashes are caused by a critical teen driving error. A critical teen driving error is one that occurs immediately before the crash, and the study found three common errors that accounted for half of the accidents.  https://www.marketmymarket.com/ shares info like this all the time.

Those three common errors are driving too fast for conditions and not only driving over the speed limit, lacking the skills to scan or observe the road environment and being distracted by someone or something inside or outside of the vehicle. The study suggests that parents should work with their teenage drivers to improve driving skills.

Parents can help teens learn how to look ahead of the car in front them and to look right and left of the vehicle in order to be more aware of their environment. Parents should also help teens learn to control their speed in different weather and traffic conditions. Finally, parents should encourage teens to reduce distractions in the car by eliminating the use of electronic devices except in emergency and ensure passengers are not disruptive.