I can still remember the feeling of freedom and independence when I was allowed to get behind the wheel for the first time without my parents. And I can remember the feeling of trepidation when I watched my daughter drive away without me for the first time.
Driving is a right of passage for teenagers. But driving comes with huge responsibilities and risks that are often ignored.
On Saturday night, another teen was needlessly killed in a car wreck northwest of Fort Worth. The 18 year-old teen was speeding when he lost control of his pickup truck on a curve. The crash killed him and injured his 16 year-old passenger. It is not clear whether alcohol was involved.
We’ve seen this story way too many times. My law office has often represented the victims of these crashes, including the catastrophically injured passenger in the truck driven by the “Affluenza teen.”
A teenager dies or is seriously injured in a car wreck almost every day. These accidents are common. But they shouldn’t be.
Auto accidents are unfortunately the leading cause of teen fatalities. Just in 2013, 2,163 teens died in car wrecks and another 243,243 ended up in the emergency room in the U.S. They are three times more likely than adults to die in a car wreck based on miles driven.
While 15 to 24 year-olds only represent 14 percent of the country’s population, males in that age group are responsible for 30 percent of auto accident injury costs and females are just behind at 28 percent.
From a safety and common sense perspective, we need to do something about this alarming problem on our roads.
Here are some top reasons:
While you can’t be sitting next to your teen, you can make a difference in what they do when drive.