Newly licensed teens crash much more often than older, more experienced drivers. These are the circumstances that are the most common trouble areas for young drivers:
Other teens: Research is clear on the fact that risky teen driving behaviors increase in the presence of teen passengers. A teen who is driving with other teens in the car is more likely to crash.
Seat belts: The unfortunate reality is that teens buckle up far less frequently than adults. Recent studies show that belt use among teens is the lowest of any age group.
Drugs and alcohol: Teens are at a far greater risk of death in an alcohol-related crash than the overall population. When alcohol is added to the inexperience of teen drivers, the results can be deadly.
Fatigue: Teen drivers who sleep less than eight hours a night are 33 percent more likely to crash than teens who get more than eight hours of sleep. This lack of sleep results in depressive moods, more risk-taking behaviors and lower grades.
Distracted driving: A driver's primary responsibility when behind the wheel is to focus on the act of driving. Any behavior that distracts from that activity--most notably electronic devices-- increases the risk of a collision and should absolutely be avoided.
Inexperience: Just as it takes years to perfect any skill - athletic, artistic or otherwise - it also takes years to become a truly good driver. Until teens are much more experienced, they run a greater risk of crashing, being hurt, and potentially dying.
Night driving: Night driving is challenging for all drivers, but novice drivers do not have the experience to anticipate and react when visibility is reduced.
Excerpted from The Parent's Supervised Driving Guide, a helpful resource for families with young drivers.
The starting point for driver education in Michigan is the Secretary of State's Teen Driver site at Michigan.gov/teendriver.
Teens and their parents are encouraged to visit for a wealth of resources on the state's Graduated Driver Licensing system and answers to the many questions they may have.
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