National Teen Driver Safety Week: Safety Tips and Information

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – National Teen Driver Safety Week takes place October 20-26.

According to the National Road Safety Foundation, an average of seven teenagers die in traffic accidents every day across the country. 56% of teen passenger deaths occurred in vehicles driven by another teen. Among passenger deaths of all ages, 15% occurred with a teenager at the wheel.

Sergeant Justin Dunn, public information officer for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, explained to KTVO some of the dangers young or inexperienced drivers face.

• Driving at night
• Distracted driving
• Improper vehicle maintenance
• Manage speed
• Unclimatic weather

The National Safety Council has a list of tips for driving in the dark.

• Use high beams when it is safe to do so.
• When approaching bright headlights, pay attention to the line on the right side of the road.
• Reduce your speed

Sergeant Dunn says when it comes to night driving, practice makes perfect.

“Get these kids out of there. Give them time behind the wheel. Give them that experience so they can be more proficient when they’re out on their own.”

Teen drivers often have difficulty controlling their speed. Dunn told KTVO that 47% of teen accidents are due to speeding.

It is one of the leading causes of road accidents, along with distraction and driving under the influence (DUI).

Dunn says the best way to watch your speed is to pay attention and follow traffic laws.

“Speed ​​kills. Statistics show that fatalities can occur in traffic accidents at speeds of 12 miles per hour or less. So you don’t have to drive fast to get killed, you just have to do something wrong to get killed behind the wheel.”

Today there are more distracting factors for drivers than ever before, be it cell phones, radios or even bright lights.

“When we do anything other than pay attention while behind the wheel, we make ourselves vulnerable to bad things happening,” Dunn told KTVO.

Another distraction Dunn brought up is passengers.

“I know Missouri is doing other things [to combat distractions]. They have advanced driving privileges that try to limit a lot of these things to teen drivers to make it safer for them.”

Impaired driving, whether caused by drugs or alcohol, also poses a major danger. Dunn says adults aren’t the only ones who do this.

“One in ten teenagers drives impaired or is under the influence of alcohol. They lack the experience needed to operate it.” [normally]and then when you add alcohol or drugs to the mix, it’s just a recipe for disaster. We always recommend you not to do that. We have to make sure we educate them.”

Putting down the phone and driving sober are two ways teens and adults can be safer on the road.

“Every year people die on the roads of Missouri and all roads in the United States because someone made a bad decision, such as trying to drink and drive or driving while distracted,” Dunn said. “There is no reason for that. We can eliminate these things. It’s a decision we make when we get behind the wheel. We want to make sure we make good decisions. Driving is a full-time job, and we need to make sure we focus all of our attention on the full-time job of driving.

Bad weather is common throughout the year in the heartland. Dunn offered tips for dealing with these conditions.

• Leave earlier
• Reduce your speed
• Take your time
• Have your vehicle checked before inclement weather
• Check the condition of your tires

“As these weather conditions continue and change, we want to be aware of and manage these changes in our vehicles,” Dunn said. “We need to know how the vehicle mechanics work and how the braking systems work. We know that when there is a lot of rain and there is a lot of water on the road, aquaplaning can occur, so we want to reduce our speed, and the same applies to icy or slushy roads that work differently in these situations.”

Dunn also said it’s important to know what to do if you’re involved in an accident. He also gave tips about it.

• If possible, move vehicle off the road to a safe location
• If someone is injured, call 911. If no one is injured, call *55 or 1-800-525-5555 to reach the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
• Stay in the vehicle

“Your human instinct tells you to get out of the car and get away from it, but we always recommend that you stay in the vehicle until emergency services arrive on scene to provide assistance if necessary, move the vehicles and tell you “Go somewhere safe,” Dunn told us.

Parents can play a big role in preparing teens for the streets, but that alone is impossible.

“Obviously we can’t prepare them for everything that’s going to happen to them on the road,” Dunn said. “One big thing we always recommend is sending them to a driver’s education course if they can get to one of those. Many of these are no longer obsolete across the state; Schools no longer offer these programs, but they still do.” You may have to pay for your child to participate.

Dunn says the ultimate learning tool is experience.

“I know it’s scary for these new drivers. We as parents have to teach them how to do things properly Make sure they drive at night so they have that experience and I know we want to stay in control and not really let go of the reins It depends but how Should our children have this experience if we don’t put them behind the wheel and let them deal with situations like this?”

As a community, we can make the roads safer by doing the following:

• Obey all traffic rules
• Limit distractions
• Always wear your seat belt
• Never drive impaired

“It makes the road safer for everyone,” Dunn told KTVO. “You can do everything in your power to be the safest driver out there, but we also know that people won’t do that. We need to raise awareness and educate everyone so we can make every day a safer day to be on Missouri’s roads.