“Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and a dangerous time of year for young drivers”
That’s Adrienne Woodland, spokeswoman for AAA – The Auto Club Group. She says more than 30 percent of deaths involving teen drivers occur during what’s called the “100 Deadliest Days”—a period that runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
“Once school is out teens spend more time on road, often driving at odd hours of the day and night. Because of their inexperience, teens are more susceptible to dangerous driving behaviors like. Speeding, driving distracted and not wearing a safety belt.”
Woodland refers to statistics to highlight the dangers.
“An average of 2,108 teens are involved in deadly crashes, every year. 660 (31%) of those occur during the 100 Deadliest Days”. These crashes result in an average of 2,341 deaths per year.
732 of those fatalities occur during the 100 Deadliest Days.”
But Woodland says parents can help their teens during this time.
“AAA urges parents to model safe driving behaviors and reinforce safe driving habits to help keep them safe this summer.”
Woodland adds, parents can lead by example and conduct at least 50 hours of supervised practice driving with their teens as.well as teach their teens defensive driving skills. More information can be found at AAA.com.
