• Home
• Amber Alert
• Events
• Directions
• Officer Listing
• Community Alert
• Vacation Form
• Statistics
• Safe Driving
• Stalking in America

Teenage Driver Safety

Something to think about:  Nothing you will deal with as a parent will be more important, more life-and-death, than how your teenager uses and misuses a motor vehicle. 

 Here are just a few facts:

• Motor Vehicle accidents (MVA’s) are the leading cause of death in people age 16 to 20.  MVA’s account for about 1/3 of deaths of people in this age group. 
• People age 16 to 20 make up only 5% of drivers and drive only 3% of all miles driven by all drivers.  And yet they are involved in 15% of all traffic deaths.
• About 5,000 teenagers of driving age die in automobile accidents every year.
• MVA’s are the leading cause of disability related to head and spinal cord injuries.
• 16 year olds are 20 times more likely to have an MVA than the general population.
• 17 year olds are 6 time more likely to have an MVA than the general population.

If your teenager has just gotten a driver’s license, it may be hard to imagine handing over the keys to your brand new car, but that may be the smartest vehicle to choose.  While getting a driver’s license is an exciting rite-of-passage for teens, it can be enough to make a parent frantic.  However, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) say there is something worried parents can do to protect their teens – choose a safe vehicle.

• Avoid vehicles that encourage reckless driving.  Teen drivers not only lack experience, but may also lack maturity.  As a result, speeding and reckless driving are common.  Sports cars and other vehicles with high performance features, such as turbo charging, are likely to encourage speeding.  Choosing a vehicle with a more sedate image will reduce the chances your teen will be in speed-related crash.
• Don’t let your teen drive an unstable vehicle.  Sport utility vehicles, especially the smaller ones, are inherently less stable than cars because of their higher centers of gravity.  Abrupt steering maneuvers – the kind that can occur when teens are fooling around or over-correcting a driver error – can cause rollovers where a more stable car would, at worst, skid or spin out.
• Pick a vehicle that offers good crash protection.  Teenagers should drive vehicles that offer state-of-the-art protection in case they do crash.
• Don’t let your teen drive a small vehicle.  Small vehicles offer much less protection in crashes than larger ones.  However, this doesn’t mean you should put your child in the largest vehicle you can find.  Many mid- and full-size cars offer more than adequate crash protection.  Check out the safety ratings for mid-size and larger cars.
• Avoid older vehicles.  Most of today’s cars are better designed for crash protection than cars of six to ten years ago.  For example, a newer, mid-size car with airbags would be a better choice than an older, larger car without airbags.  Before you make a final choice on the car your teenager will drive, consult the U.S. Department of Transportation (http://www.dot.gov) or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (http://www.iihs.org ).