As the school year ends, teen drivers spend a lot more time on the roadways. Summer is known as the “100 Deadliest Days” for teenaged drivers because of the significant increase in motor vehicle collisions among teenagers during the period of time from Memorial Day to Labor Day. During the summer months from 2012 to 2021, there were more than 7,300 deaths in motor vehicle crashes involving teens.
What’s so dangerous about the summertime?
According to AAA, more teenagers are driving during the summer months and have more free time to engage in recreation. Some reasons for the increase in crashes include:
- Distractions: Experts estimate that distracted driving contributes to 60% of all crashes. The most common distractions are using devices while driving or talking with other passengers in the car.
- No seatbelt: 60% of teen driver fatalities occur when they do not use their seatbelt, and nearly half of the passengers in the back seat who died were not wearing a seatbelt.
- Speeding: 30% of teen driving fatalities are caused by speeding, which is one of the top three mistakes that teen drivers make.
Passengers and pedestrians are affected
According to preliminary numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 11,395 deaths on U.S. roadways in June, July and August of 2022, including nearly 1,600 pedestrians and almost 2,200 motorcyclists.
