Teen Drivers Are Dangerous

An inaugural national research report released today from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm Insurance Companies® shows that the impact of teen driver crashes extends far beyond teen drivers’ families and friends. In 2008, more than half a million (681,000) people were involved in crashes where a teen driver was behind the wheel. More than 40,000 were injured, and nearly 30 percent of those who died in these crashes were not in cars driven by teens.

“When most people think about those affected by teen driver crashes, they think of the teens behind the wheel. We must also consider the significant impact of these crashes on other members of our communities: occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and other road-users,” says Dennis Durbin, M.D., M.S.C.E., co-scientific director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at CHOP, and a co-author of the report. “Whether or not we have a teen driver in our family, we should all care about this issue. This report provides a concrete way to measure the effectiveness of laws, education, and other programs in reducing teen crashes and their impact on communities.”

Researchers focus on four key behaviors among teen drivers that contribute to crashes or crash fatalities that can also be tracked using federal data sources: failure to use seat belts, speeding, alcohol use, and distracted driving.

“Reducing speeding and alcohol use, increasing seat belt use, and eliminating distractions for teen drivers are the four calls-to-action we see in this report that would have great impact on reducing injuries and fatalities for all road users,” says Dr. Durbin, who is also an emergency physician. “More than half of teens who were fatally injured in crashes were speeding, 40 percent had a positive blood alcohol level, more than half were not wearing seat belts, and 16 percent of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving.”

The report also shows that more teens die from car crashes than from cancer, homicide, and suicide combined. Teen driver and peer passenger deaths account for one-quarter (24 percent) of total teen deaths from any cause. However, the authors stress that teen fatalities are just “the tip of the iceberg.” Thousands more – including friends, family members, and others on the road – suffer physical injuries, psychological trauma, and disruption to their everyday lives.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident lawyer I have seen far too many teen deaths and I strongly encourage parents to be realistic about the skills and propensities of their children. It’s a time of excitement and dread for every parent, the time when their precious little Bobby or Betty reaches the age when they can drive. Excitement because their child is growing up and the parents can relinquish to job of being the chauffeur for their busy teens and dread because the know in their heart of hearts the dangers that teen drivers face as they take to the highways and byways.

If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident caused by a teen driver contact the experienced Nashville automobile accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates and find out about your rights and remedies.

Roadway Departure Fatality

Melissa Frederick was 33 years and fifteen minutes old when her life ended. We will probably never know just what it was that caused her to leave the interstate roadway, hit a guardrail, get ejected and then crushed by her vehicle.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney I know that the investigators will conduct toxicology tests to determine if she had ingested any drugs or alcohol, they will check her cell phone records to determine whether she was talking or texting at the time she left the road, but whatever the results, the bottom line is that a young Tennessee woman is now dead, another highway fatality statistic. My prayers and sympathy go out to her family and friends.

I write about this tragedy in the hopes that others who read it will learn something from this fatal Tennessee car crash. The use of seat belts is required by Tennessee law. Seatbelts can help save you and your passenger’s lives in the event of a traffic crash. The THP investigator noted in his report that Ms. Frederick was not wearing her seatbelt and was ejected and crushed by her own vehicle.

As an experienced Nashville automobile accident attorney we know that these crashes are referred to as “Roadway Departure Crashes” (RDCs). The Federal Highway Administration defines a RDC as a non-intersection crash that occurs when a vehicle crosses an edge line or a centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

According to the Federal Highway Administration roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of highway fatalities. In 2008, there were 19,794 fatal roadway departure crashes resulting in 22,080 fatalities, which was 53 percent of the fatal crashes in the United States. FHWA uses the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to compute statistics on roadway departure crashes.

The lesson here for Tennessee drivers is that you must keep all of your attention on the act of driving and avoid distractions. If you or a loved one is injured or killed in a Tennessee automobile accident contact the experienced Tennessee automobile accident lawyers at Phillip Miller & Associates and learn about your rights and remedies.