Sales & Service

Claims

• Always wear your seatbelt and insist that your passengers do too.
• Obey the speed limits.   Drive slower than you think is necessary!
• Keep the radio at a reasonable volume.
• Don’t drink and drive, or ride with those who have.
• Don’t talk on a cell phone while driving.
• Passengers are a distraction, so focus on your driving.
• Don't eat and drive.

Teenagers are disproportionately represented in the number of motor vehicle fatalities. Teenagers drive less than all but the oldest drivers do, but their numbers of crashes and deaths are disproportionately high.

Alcohol and driving are a deadly mix.

Night and weekend driving are especially risky for teens.

No safety in numbers when it comes to driving.

Wearing your seatbelt can mean the difference between life and death in an auto accident.

The youngest -- and most inexperienced -- drivers are most at risk for motor vehicle crashes and fatalities.

• More teens are killed in auto accidents—nearly 10 a day nationwide—than by any other means.
• Crashes are responsible for 1 in 3 deaths of teens ages 15 to 19.
• The first years a teenager spends driving are extremely risky. In fact, teen drivers have the highest death rates of any group. In 2001 alone, more than 5,500 teenagers died in motor vehicle crashes, and many more were left severely and permanently injured by crashes.
• Crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, who are four times more likely to die in a car accident than all other age groups combined.
• Crash rates per mile driven are almost three times as high among 16-year-olds than for 18-and 19-year-olds.
• The risk of crash involvement per miles driven for 16-19-year-olds is four times the risk for older drivers.
• More than 70 percent of teens who died in motor vehicle crashes in 1997 were not wearing safety belts.
• Forty-one percent of motor vehicle deaths among teenagers in 1998 occurred between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
• Fifty-three percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 1998 occurred on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
• The more passengers a teenager has in his or her car, the higher the risk for a deadly crash.
• A 16-year-old driver with one passenger is 39 percent more likely to die in a crash than a single driver. For 17-year-olds, the risk is 48 percent.
• When a 16-year-old picks up two passengers, that risk rises 86 percent. For a 17-year-old, it rises 158 percent.
• With three or more passengers, a 16-year-old is 182 percent more likely to have a fatal crash. A 17-year-olds’ rate is 207 percent.
• Auto accidents are the number one killer of teenagers—more than illness, violent crime, suicides, recreational accidents, even drugs and alcohol.

You’ve read the statistics, you’ve heard what inexperience behind the wheel can do. So, as a parent, what can you do to help your teen develop safe driving habits? Here are some tips from a variety of experts:

• Be a good role model
• Let your child practice driving with you often
• Be patient
• Limit the teen’s passengers and night driving privileges
• Have zero tolerance for moving violations or alcohol/drug use
• Encourage safety belts, courteous driving and compliance with all laws
   

Practice, Practice, Practice
As a parent charged with teaching driving skills, here's a list of situations to practice with your new driver: