National Teen Driver Safety Week takes place October 18-24 across the United States.
Ahead of the national campaign, parents are urged to discuss the importance of driving safety with their young drivers.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is leading the campaign, says parents play an important role in helping ensure their teen drivers take smart steps to stay safe on the road. NHTSA gives parents tips on how to talk about safe driving behaviors with their teens, and to address the most dangerous and deadly driving behaviors for teen drivers: alcohol, lack of seat belt use, distracted driving, speeding, and driving with passengers.
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for teens 15 to 18 years old in the U.S. In 2018, there were 2,121 people killed in crashes involving a teen passenger vehicle driver (15-18 years old), of which 719 deaths were the teen driver — a five percent decrease from 2017. In the same year, there were an estimated 88,000 teen drivers injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes, and an estimated 256,000 people injured in crashes involving a teen driver, accounting for almost 10 percent of all those injured that year.
NHTSA’s website, www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/teen-driving, has detailed information and statistics on teen driving, and outlines the basic rules parents can use to help reduce the risks for teen drivers.
