DEARBORN, Mich. — The summer months of 2013 saw a 43 percent increase in traffic deaths of teen drivers and their passengers, a statistic that has inspired AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety to label June through August as the “100 Deadliest Days” on the nation’s highways.
While teen traffic crashes are down, the number of crashes involving teens skyrockets in the summer months simply because they drive more in the summer, said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the foundation in a release. The data “is a timely reminder to everyone — drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists — to be mindful when sharing the roads with young drivers,” Kissinger said.
A foundation study of traffic data shows that crashes involving teen drivers affect many more people than just the teens:
- 66 percent of people killed in crashes involving teen drivers and 67 percent of those injured are not the teens themselves.
- Nearly half of people injured in such crashes are in a vehicle other then the teen’s vehicle.
- 30 percent of fatalities in crashes involving teens are in a vehicle other then the teen’s.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety studied data from the federal government’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
To help families improve teen driving safety, AAA Michigan has the online StartSmart program, including a parent-teen driving contract.
