Nashville Automobile Accident Lawyer Talks About Peer Pressure For Tennessee Teen Drivers
Restricted Licenses Save Teen Lives
As an experienced Tennessee auto accident lawyer I have read research reports that say that with teen drivers the risk of a fatal crash goes up in direct relation to the number of teenagers in the car. In Tennessee the Graduated Drivers License law restricts the number of passengers for a driver on an intermediate license to one.
UNLESS:
- One or more of the passengers is age 21 or older and has a valid, unrestricted license;
- The passengers are brothers and sisters, step-brothers or step-sisters, adopted or fostered children residing in the same house as the driver and going to and from school AND the intermediate license holder has in their possession written permission from their parent or guardian to transport their siblings. Those with an intermediate license are prohibited from driving between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
UNLESS:
- They are accompanied by a parent or guardian;
- They are accompanied by a licensed driver 21 or older who has been designated by the parent or guardian. This designation must be in writing and be in the possession of the teen driver;
- They are driving to or from a specifically identified school sponsored activity or event and have in their possession written permission from a parent or guardian to do this;
- They are driving to or from work and have in their possession written permission from a parent or guardian identifying the place of employment and authorizing the driver to go to and from work;
- They are driving to or from hunting or fishing between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. and have in their possession a valid hunting or fishing license.
According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, over the 10 years from 1998 through 2007, there were 24,655 drivers ages 15 through 17 involved in fatal crashes. These crashes killed 28,138 people, of whom 10,388 (36.9%) were the 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old drivers themselves. However, the majority of fatalities in those crashes (63.1%) were people other than those drivers, and included 8,829 of their passengers, 6,858 occupants of vehicles operated by drivers age 18 or older, and 2,063 non-motorists and others.
On a positive note, the number of young drivers involved in fatal crashes each year decreased substantially over the years analyzed, with 776 fewer drivers age 15 to 17 involved in fatal crashes in 2007 than in 1998, resulting in the deaths of 311 fewer young drivers and 540 fewer deaths of other people in 2007 than in 1998. There was also a substantial decrease in the fatal crash involvement of adult drivers over the same period; however, the decrease in the fatal crash involvement of young drivers and people killed in those crashes was significantly larger than what would have been predicted from the decrease in the fatal crash involvement of adults.
If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a teen driver, contact the experienced Nashville car crash lawyer at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.
Phillip Miller is a Tennessee Accident Attorney specializing in
Phillip has an AVVO rating of 10.0 (Superb), has been designated as a “Superlawyer”, and is the President Elect of the Tennessee Association for Justice.
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