It’s no secret that teens are more likely to get into an accident than older drivers. Unfortunately, most of those accidents are also fatal accidents. The most recent stats give us a glimpse into the driving world of teens and may help us stop them altogether. New drivers, especially 16-year old drivers, are 3.7 times more likely to get into a fatal accident. That number slowly decreases with age becoming 2.7 times more likely at age 19. However, numbers only tell us the end result, it’s up to us to know how to avoid teen accidents.
Knowing how to avoid teen accidents is the best preventable measure we have to keep teens and other drivers safe while driving.
Know the Causes
In order to fix a problem, we need to know what causes the problem. When it comes to knowing how to avoid teen accidents, there can be many problems. One of the most common problems is distracted driving. Distracted driving comes in many different forms and some not as well known. Texting or talking on the phone while driving is an obvious mistake. But listening to music, adjusting the radio, eating, drinking water and trying to pick up something from the floor are all distractions. It takes less than a second to get into an accident and there’s nothing you can do while driving that is worth your life.
Know the Fixes
There are plenty of ways to avoid an accident, like avoiding distractions and paying attention to the roadways ahead. However, the most important thing we can do is follow the law. Laws were made with safety in mind, not to make you late or waste time. Driving laws are intended to keep everyone safe while heavy machinery moves at fast speeds all around us. Follow the speed limits no matter where you’re driving, avoid driving at night if you’re a teen and put everything you learned in driving school to good use. If you follow the rules of the road, on every road, you will be much safer and you’ll be keeping others safe as well.
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving is a driving tactic that keeps you aware of others on the roads. While you’re driving safe, not everyone is as well prepared as you. This means that no matter how hard we try to stay safe, we can’t control how others act on the roads. We can, however, control how we react and that is what Varsity Driving Academy can teach you. We teach our students how to react in many different scenarios, making sure they stay safe even when they can’t control how others drive.
