Top Ten Things Many Parents Don’t Know About Teen Driving

During National Teen Driver Safety Week traffic safety advocates across the country will work to raise awareness about why teen drivers crash and how to prevent these crashes.

To help parents understand the scope of the problem, the National Safety Council compiled a list of the top 10 things most parents don’t know about teen driving:

1. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens.
2. Most dangerous time of a teen driver’s life is the first 12 months after receiving a license.
3. A teen drivers’ crash risk is three times that of drivers ages 20 and older.
4. Teens crash most often because they are inexperienced – not because they take more risks behind the wheel.
5. Teen passengers are one of the biggest distractions for teen drivers. Just one teen passenger raises a teen driver’s fatal crash risk 44 percent. Two passengers doubles fatal crash risk. Three or more quadruples crash risk.
6. Most fatal nighttime crashes involving teen drivers happen between 9 p.m. and midnight.
7. More than half of teens killed in car crashes were not restrained by a seatbelt.
8. Most teen driving laws and restrictions do not adequately protect teen drivers from the most serious crash risks.
9. Teens really do learn to drive from watching their parents. A survey found 80 percent of teens cite their parents as having the most influence over teen’s driving habits.
10. Crash risk remains high after licensure. In fact, young drivers’ crash risk does not significantly begin decreasing until age 25.