Safety Reminders for Teen Drivers; National Teen Driver Safety Week
October 14, 2022
This week, Oct 16-22, 2022, is National Teen Driver Safety Week and it serves as a reminder to talk with teens regularly about safe driving habits.
"Parents can be the biggest influencers on teens' choices behind the wheel,” said Boise Police Cpl. Kyle Wills. “Talking about safe driving and modeling safe driving go hand in hand when it comes to stopping risky driving behaviors that can have terrible consequences.”
So far this year in Boise there have been 371 vehicle crashes involving teen drivers with two related deaths. Nationwide, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for teens 15-18 years old and tens of thousands of teens each year are injured.
“Getting home safely should always be our number priority behind the wheel,” said Cpl. Wills. “Changing weather, changing destinations, changing passengers are always good reasons to start a conversation about driving with a teen.”
Top 5 contributing circumstances to crashes *
- Failed to Yield
- Following Too Close
- Inattention
- Failed to Obey Signal
- Unsafe Lane Change
* Of the 843 citations issued due to accidents where a teenage driver was involved, 70% of citations were issued to teens
Top 5 citations issued to teen drivers in Boise
- Following too close
- Failing to use the designated lane
- Failing to yield at left turns
- Failing to yield from an alley, driveway, other
- Turning – failing to use a turn signal and with reasonable safety
“In addition to knowing the rules of the road, we really want to impress on our teen drivers the importance of creating a safe environment inside the vehicle,” said Cpl. Kyle Wills. “Teen drivers need constant reminders about how to approach dangerous and deadly driving behaviors such as alcohol and other drug use, lack of seat belt use, distracted driving, speeding, or driving with passengers.”
Reminders for parents and teen drivers
- Empower teens to stand strong and confirm everyone is buckled up — including front seat and back seat passengers —before the vehicle moves.
- Alcohol isn’t the only substance that can keep teens from driving safely: marijuana affects a driver’s ability to react to their surroundings. Driving is a complex task and marijuana slows the reaction time. Remind teens that driving under the influence of any impairing substance — including illicit or prescription drugs, or over-the-counter medication — can have deadly consequences.
- Remind teens about the dangers of using a phone while driving and clarify that any phone use (texting, talking, or using any social media apps) is unacceptable, even if they are stopped at a light.
- Speeding is a critical issue for all drivers, especially for teens who are less experienced. Males were more likely to be involved in fatal speeding-related crashes than females. Remind teens to always drive within the speed limit.
- Passengers in a teen’s vehicle can lead to disastrous consequences. Research shows the risk of a fatal crash dramatically increases in direct relation to the number of passengers in a vehicle. The likelihood that a teen driver will engage in risky behavior triples when multiple passengers are in the same vehicle.
NHTSA’s website, www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/teen-driving, has detailed information and statistics on teen driving and outlines tips parents can use to address teen driver safety risks.
Contact: Boise Police Media Relations