Parents find their teens acquiring a license to drive a bitter sweet occasion. Though they no longer have the added pressure of pick-ups and drop-offs their worry now changes to the safety of their teens on roadways. The inexperience new drivers possess can often lead to Fort Lauderdale car accidents.
The Sun Sentinel reported last month that fewer 16 year olds are getting their drivers licenses. This could be due to a couple of reasons. Texting and the use of Facebook keeps teens in much more frequent contact so seeing each other face to face is no longer as important. Another reason for not wanting to drive is that owning a car can be quite expensive with the price of gas and high insurance costs, particularly in this economy.
According to the Florida Highway Safety and Division of Motor Vehicles Florida has almost 773,000 teen drivers. They acknowledge that the teen age group has the highest accident rate. There were almost 30,000 crashes involving teen drivers resulting in 284 deaths last year. There were 21% fewer teen crash fatalities from 2008 to 2009 and 8% fewer teen crashes.
Sadly, this teen car crash reported by The Gainesville Sun took the life of a 16 year old boy because he was reaching for a dropped cell phone while he was driving.
If teens can eliminate some of the following driving distractions, more lives might be saved:
-Put the cell phone out of arms reach so if it rings there is no temptation to answer or respond.
-Wait for a traffic light or stop sign to adjust any controls. You can also get the controls right before heading out on the road.
-Don’t eat when you are driving. Ask yourself if a dropped French fry is really worth dying for?
-The car is no place to be grooming. Finish before you leave or when you arrive at your destination.
-If you aren’t sure where you are going pull over instead of concentrating on the GPS.
-Concentrating on driving is easier done when you are alone. Don’t drive with friends in the car.
Freeman & Mallard is a South Florida personal injury and wrongful death law firm dedicated to helping motorists who have been injured in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and the Port St. Lucie/Fort Pierce areas. Call today for a free consultation. 1-800-529-2368.