• 13
  • December
    2011

For many 16-year-olds, receiving their drivers' license means more than just the freedom that driving allows; it is an outward sign by the community that they are becoming young adults capable of handling the independence and safe decision making that come with drivers' licenses. However, a new study indicates that this perception may be initially unfounded.

The study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, and conducted by University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, indicates that in their first month of driving, new teen-motorists are involved in car accidents at a significantly higher rate than at other times. The study demonstrated that in their first month of driving, teens are 50 percent more likely to be involved in an accident than they would be after a year of driving. Additionally during the first month, teen-drivers are twice as likely to be involved a crash as they would be after two years of driving.

The study indicates that in 57 percent of the accidents that occur in that first month of driving, three mistakes typically provide the catalyst for chaos:

  • Failing to yield
  • Failing to slow down
  • Not paying attention while driving

The Washington Post quoted John B. Townsend II, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, as saying new teen-drivers lack "enough life experience" and do not have "enough time under their belt" to successfully handle all of the dangers that driving can pose.

In fact, laws which restrict teen driving so that new drivers can accumulate experience more gradually - such as graduated license programs - lower the instance of crashes, according to studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

As teens adjust to the responsibility of driving, safety education should be a top priority for teens and parents alike.