Key Points of This Article:
- According to University of Michigan researchers, distracted driving crashes now tally twice as high as drunk driving accidents across the state.
- Sixteen- and 17-year-old drivers have the highest crash rates of any age group, and Michigan drivers under age 21 are three times as likely to get in a crash that results in a fatality or serious injury.
- Michigan teen drivers have an increased risk of fatal crash by nearly 15% beginning Memorial Day weekend thru Labor Day. Each year, this is called the ‘100 Deadliest Days’ for young drivers.
- Parents who practice good driving behaviors in front of their children, including patience and minimizing distractions, can help reduce their crash risk once ready to be the ones behind the wheel.
Thousands of teenage drivers from communities all across Michigan will be getting behind the wheel for the first time this summer. And, if you’re their parent, it is common to feel both excited but also anxious for this considerable feat. But sadly, driving-related crashes remain the leading cause of death for teenagers, especially in the time that runs Memorial Day thru Labor Day. Road safety officials often refer to these months as the ‘100 Deadliest Days’, a time when fatal teen crash rates rise by nearly 20% due to an increase in driver alcohol and drug impairments, speeding, recklessness, and distracted driving.
When combined, a teen driver’s inexperience and immaturity make them especially at-risk in these five circumstances:
- At Night: Driving is more complicated and dangerous at night for everyone, but particularly for teenagers. Young drivers have less experience driving at night than during the day, and drowsiness and alcohol may be more of a factor at night. Teen drivers are about three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash at night than during the day.
- After Drinking Alcohol or Using Drugs: Young drivers’ inexperience with both driving and drinking means that they have a higher crash risk no matter how much alcohol they consume compared to older drivers.
- Driving or Riding with Friends: Teenage passengers can distract young drivers and encourage them to take risks, and adding even just one passenger increases a teen driver’s crash risk by 50%. Three or more passengers – the risk is nearly four times greater than when alone. Limiting passengers is essential.
- When Unbelted: Seat belts reduce the risk of injury or fatality in a crash, but teenage drivers and passengers have lower belt use rates than older drivers and passengers. Males and passengers have the lowest use rates. The latest numbers provided by the National Safety Council show that nearly half of all teen drivers killed in crashes were not properly wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
- When Using Cell Phones and Personal Technology Devices: All drivers are at higher risk when talking on their phone or texting; however, young drivers use cell phones more frequently to scan social media accounts, email, and text than older drivers. Teenagers also have more difficulty multi-tasking and do not understand the dangers of distracted driving.
Michigan has a graduated licensing system to help young drivers identify high-risk driving situations and learn how to become responsible motorists. Through this program, the law requires a parent or guardian to certify that a teen driver spends a minimum of 50 hours behind the wheel, including ten hours at night. Families are encouraged to review these five everyday situations where teen drivers are more likely to crash in Michigan’s Graduated Driver Licensing Guide. These risks prove especially true in the summer months when school is out, and teens are more often on the road.
Factors Contributing to Teen Driver Crashes
Inexperience, risk-taking behavior, immaturity, and greater risk exposure are all proven triggers that increase crash and injury risks for young drivers. Because of these factors, teen drivers are more likely to miss road hazards, speed while driving, and not wear their seatbelts. Talk to your teen about these four deadly mistakes responsible for more than 60 percent of all teen crashes, including:
- Hazard Recognition: Because their scan and search skills are underdeveloped, it takes young drivers longer to recognize a hazard than older drivers, increasing their crash risk.
- Speed and Space Management: Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and to allow shorter distance from the rear of one vehicle to the front of the next. Young male drivers involved in fatal crashes are more likely to be caught speeding at the time of the crash, compared to female drivers in the same age groups.
- Vehicle Handling: Motor coordination of the eyes, hands, and feet are needed to work through the physical maneuvers of day-to-day driving. Teens may not possess these skills and instead overestimate their driving abilities beyond those of a vehicle’s technology and operating system.
- Distracted and Impaired Driving: Teens are more easily distracted by texting, riding with friends, eating, using drugs or alcohol, playing music, and using mobile apps while driving.
Unfortunately, young drivers are often the cause of otherwise avoidable accidents. Parents can play one of the most important roles to keeping everyone, including their teen, safe on the road. Give new drivers practice, be a good role model, and remind them often that safe driving skills take time to develop.
Michigan’s Teen and Young Adult Drivers
In 2019, 509,380 licensed drivers ages 15-20 represented 7% of Michigan’s driving population. The drivers in this age group represented 10% percent of drivers in all crashes and almost 10% of drivers in fatal crashes. In addition, 9,302 teenagers and young adults were injured in motor vehicle crashes, representing 12% of all people injured in crashes.
Michigan communities with high teen driving crash rates include Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Sterling Heights, and Bloomfield Township in Oakland County. The most common types of teen-related crashes reported by Michigan State Police in 2019 involved left turns, rear-end events, running off the road, and shoulder/outside curb crashes. Young drivers also had a higher incidence of speeding, overturn, inability to stop in assured clear distance, a collision with a ditch, and hitting a tree.
Driving Is a Learned Activity That Takes Practice Led By Parents
When a parent chooses to become involved in their teen driver’s skill training, that time spent can help reduce collisions and minimize the risk of related crash fatalities for all road users. Michigan parents can significantly help their teen driver prepare by doing simple things like:
- Modeling their best driver behavior.
- They are practicing good driving with their teen.
- Always wearing a seat belt, obeying speed limits, and not allowing Smartphone use while driving, even when at a traffic light.
- They spend time reviewing articles like this with their teens and sharing safe teen driving resources with others.
If you are not currently working with your teen driver and playing one of the most critical roles to keeping everyone, including your child, now is the perfect opportunity to begin.
Michigan Driving School for Teens
Young Driver Defensive Driving Courses Help Change Attitudes
Motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death and injury and the cost of a single accident could easily exceed $1.4 million. Drivers ages 16 to 19 remain a major player in these wrecks as they are three times more likely than drivers 20 and older to be in a fatal crash. In fact, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for these teens. Signing your young adult up to take a Defensive Driving Course can help reduce teen driver collisions, and minimize the risk of roadway injuries and fatalities for all travelers sharing the road with them.
Alive at 25 Program Helps Young Drivers
Most driver training programs will focus on laws and road and vehicle handling, but some young driver courses will also focus on behavior, judgment and decision making. We suggest reviewing a program like the National Safety Council’s Alive at 25 defensive driving course for young adults. The four-hour interactive course is modular and split between 60-minute sessions (five-minute breaks in between) instructing drivers about the attitudes of personal responsibility and respectful decision making to ensure they are capable of making safe and legal driving decisions. The online course features provide:
- an interactive approach using balanced levels of information and learner-centered application activities
- appropriate media that reflect the participant needs and learning styles
- a variety of learning methods and media, such as realistic scenarios to enhance learning
- emphasis on knowledge and skills transfer
- integrated review and application of previously learned concepts
There are currently two Alive at 25 Training Centers in Michigan. We like the Alive at 25 Defensive Driving program because it focuses on crash prevention as well. Young drivers will learn crucial techniques such as:
- Avoiding distractions
- Being aware of reaction distance
- Employing the two-second rule for following distances
- Being aware of environment hazards
- Knowing your vehicle’s stopping distance
- Passing and necessary clear distance
- Properly handling railroad crossings
- Right of way
- Scanning the roadway and adapting to surroundings
- Sharing the road
- Speed adjustments
- Vehicle emergencies
Michigan already has a graduated licensing system to help young drivers identify high risk driving situations and learn how to become a responsible motorist. The two-step system focuses on increasing adult supervision and extending the educational requirements of the novice driver. Even with the program, Michigan residents under age 18 are still responsible for 6.7 percent of serious car crashes. Preparing your teen driver and educating them beyond regular, early-on drivers’ education courses can help save lives.
Injured in a Teen Driving or Distracted Driving Accident?
If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a motor vehicle accident caused by the poor decisions of a reckless driver, you and your family may be entitled to compensation for things like medical bills, lost wages, and funeral expenses. And know we are sorry for your situation and that our team of car accident injury attorneys at Lee Steinberg Law Firm in Michigan are ready to help. Please call and speak to our motor vehicle accident attorneys at 1-800-LEE-FREE (1-800-533-3733) to schedule a free consultation.
Watch Attorney Eric Steinberg: What to DO and NOT DO If You’re Getting Calls from Doctors and Lawyers After Your Accident
Source: Michigan’s Graduated Driver Licensing: A Guide for Parents. (2018). www.michigan.gov. Accessed May 5, 2021.
