Teen drivers
need feedback
from parents

A national survey of teenagers found that many of them drive under “extremely dangerous conditions – fatigue, talking on cell phones, strong emotions and multiple passengers.” Many still don’t wear seat belts.

The survey, conducted by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance, said that 75 percent of teens see peers driving fatigued and 90 percent see passenger behavior that distracts the driver. Twenty percent of the 11th graders surveyed reported being the driver involved in a wreck.

“Teens described a driving environment that would be challenging even to experienced drivers,” said Dr. Flaura Winston, founder of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. “Combine this driving environment with lack of training and experience and you have a deadly mix.”

In 2005, almost 7,500 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes. The fatality rate for drivers aged 16 to 19 based on miles driven is four times that of drivers aged 25 to 69 years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In Columbus County last year, traffic deaths decreased by 60 percent compared to 2006; yet, when considering the factors that contribute to teen car crashes, that number is subject to increase in any given year.

We pray that it doesn’t.

There is one positive piece of information in the report: parents have more influence over how their children drive and behave in a car than we are generally led to believe. A majority of teens say they understand their parents’ concerns about cell phone use, more than half rely on their parents to learn how to drive, and that 39 percent rely completely on their parents for financing their driving, which gives these parents considerable influence on behavior in a car.

What can be learned from this? Most importantly, parents should talk to and continually reinforce in their children good driving habits and the ramifications of making bad decisions.

Most of us know parents who have had a child seriously injured or killed in a car wreck. Often, it’s because of poor decisions, such as driving under the influence and speeding.

These are true and utter tragedies.

If you have a young driver in your family, won’t you talk with them?