Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teenage death, 63.8% of accidental death in 2010 according to CDC data (most recent year available).

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Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teenage death, 63.8% in 2010 according to CDC data (most recent year available). Some more facts about teen drivers (from CDC, NHTSA, GHSA and IIHS):

1. 33 percent of deaths among 13 to 19-year-olds in 2010 occurred in motor vehicle crashes.
[NOTE: This is twice the percentage of suicides or twice the percentage of homicides and twice the percentage of all medical causes of death combined for teenagers]
2. 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
3. 56 percent of teens said they talk on the phone while driving.
4. Statistics show that 16 and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.
5. Only 44 percent of teens said they would definitely speak up if someone were driving in a way that scared them.
6. Teen drivers with involved parents are twice as likely to wear seat belts.
7. More than 40 percent of teen auto deaths occur between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
8. Talking on a cell phone can double the likelihood of an accident as well as slow a young driver’s reaction time down to that of a 70-year-old.
9. In their first year of driving 1 in 5 16-year-old drivers has an accident.
10. 56 percent of teenagers rely on their parents to learn how to drive.

Involved parents can make a difference (allowing teenager to drive is not a set it and forget it task)......experience can make a difference (a dozen times on the Beltway is NOT enough to go it alone)... and worse what is called driver skills training really is somewhat of a joke in Virginia......buying a big car to protect your precious one doesn't help anyone including your own. Driving is a privilege, not a right and we as parents need grow up and act like it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you let your teens drive on the Beltway?

Yes, but the first half dozen times we made a rule that he had to take either of us parents with him. After that, when we could see that he knew what he was doing, he's been on his own.

Teenagers aren't killed on the Beltway. Fatalities normally happen within ten miles of home on the roads that kids drive everyday.

Anonymous wrote:Do you let your teens drive on the Beltway?

Yes, but the first half dozen times we made a rule that he had to take either of us parents with him. After that, when we could see that he knew what he was doing, he's been on his own.

Do you let your teens drive on the Beltway?

Anonymous wrote:IIHS ranks cars based on crash results...more important is preventing the crash from happening in the first place: driver skills training, removal of distraction risks from the car and a car that handles well enough to avoid hazards during sudden maneuvers.

Just the drivers ed class isn't enough, demonstration and reinforcement of good driving habits by parents and especially peers is vitally important!

Just asking... How many parents talk on the cell phone with their kids in the car?

Your kid is driving. How do you think you are going to prevent a crash from happening? Teens are notorious for getting into accidents their first months of driving. All these kids take driver's skills training. It is part of getting your license.

They don't have experience driving so if your more focused on preventing a crash, great. Every parent wants that. You also have to make a smart choice about what they are in. It could save their life.