Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog
We often preach to our teens about everything from how to keep their rooms clean to keeping up with their school work so they can get into a good college. During the holidays, it might be a good time to preach to them about the dangers of driving during this time of year. Educating your teens on driving dangers could help reduce the risk of Fort Lauderdale car accidents.
The National Safety Council is proud to announce that they are teaming up with The Allstate Foundation to support teen driving safety in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities for the younger age group.
“While our roads have never been safer, car crashes remain the No. 1 killer of all people from 1 to 34 years old, with teens crashing four times more often than any other age group. We must act now to create new social norms behind the wheel starting first with our youngest drivers,” said Joan H. Walker, senior vice president, Allstate Insurance Co. “With its long legacy of building safety coalitions, NSC is the ideal organization to lead new state efforts to change the teen driving culture.”
Approximately 3,500 teens were killed in car crashes in 2009, four times as many as any other age group. The Allstate Foundation will be helping fund a new program that will be focused on teens being safer drivers as well as changing their attitudes and behavior about driving. Florida is one of 10 states who will receive funding to form alliances whose first effort will be to study teen crash data followed by going out and educating families through a number of sources. The NSC will use the funding to develop a strategy and find solutions for safer teen driving.
“Funding from The Allstate Foundation allows NSC to develop a coordinated strategy for building effective state coalitions,” said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO. “The coalitions will mobilize state leaders to find unique solutions to the teen driving issue and save young lives for generations to come.”
The Florida Sheriffs Association is also doing their part. They are promoting the teen driver challenge in an effort to save the younger generation of drivers. The twelve hour program educates and offers a practical approach to reduce the chances of an accident and is free of charge to students.
If your teen is driving, especially in their first year, you may want to talk to them about the following safety tips:
-Always adjust your seat and mirror and fasten your seat belt before starting the vehicle.
-Stop completely at stop signs and red lights by slowly coming to a stop.
-When putting the vehicle in reverse or changing lanes, turn your head to look rather than rely on a mirror to indicate it’s safe.
-Leave all tangible distractions like cell phones, IPods, or food out of reach. It would even better to leave them all home.
The best way to educate your teen is by example. Use precautionary measures and good driving behavior so that the teen knows the proper way of handling the vehicle and how to react in different situations.
The experienced attorneys at Freeman & Mallard are available to assist if you have been in a car accident in the West Palm Beach or surrounding areas of Florida. Call for a free consultation at 800-529-2368.