Deadliest Months For Teen Drivers Begin

As teens begin summer vacations, a disturbing warning has been issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The latest data from U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System show that the deadliest days of the year for teens ages 15-19 are in the months of May, June, July and August. During these four months, nearly twice as many teens died on the roads each day as compared to the rest of the year – for an average of nearly 16 deaths per day (15.9) – compared to an average of nearly nine deaths (8.8) per day during the year as a whole.
Individuals in the 16 to 24 age group have the highest traffic crash death rate in the country. Between 2005 and 2009 (the most recent year for which data are available), nearly 4,000 people from this age group were killed in crashes involving large trucks.
In an effort to raise awareness among teen drivers of these dangers, the U.S. DOT is spearheading a program to educate young drivers about the dangers of tractor-trailers and unsafe driving practices.
Kicking off the program, standing beside a 53-foot long tractor trailer in front of District of Columbia High School, officials representing the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) spoke to students from Maryland and the District of Columbia about the critical importance of driving safely around big trucks.
A fully loaded tractor trailer requires roughly twice the distance to stop that a passenger vehicle requires. In addition, tractor trailers have sizeable blind spots, otherwise known as “No Zones,” areas that motorist must avoid.
The program is emphasizing several simple rules: buckle up; don’t drink and drive; don’t speed; don’t text or use your phone; and steer clear of a truck’s blind spots.
We applaud this effort and urge all parents to stress the importance of these rules to your teenage drivers. Hopefully, with this type of effort, this dismal statistic can be reduced.