Teenage Drivers in Cars

What if there was a disease that claimed the lives of 2,400 teens each year? A disease that was the leading killer of teenagers, that didn’t distinguish between income or race, and could devastate any family? What if that disease could be prevented through available, inexpensive behavior changes?

Unfortunately this ‘disease’ exists: motor vehicle crashes result in more teen deaths than any other cause. In 2012, 2,439 teen drivers and passengers died in motor vehicle crashes. In half of these fatal crashes, the teen was not using a seat belt, and this proportion has been relatively unchanged over the last decade.

A new study from Safe Kids Worldwide surveyed 1,000 teens to learn why more teens die in motor vehicle crashes than from any other cause of death. The report highlights why teens don’t always buckle up, explores their texting and distraction habits, and examines what teens do when they feel unsafe.

We’re the parents of a teen driver with another quickly on the way. As both parents and lawyers, we believe every teenage driver and his or her parents should read this booklet here or below.