NHTSA Report: Young Drivers in Texas at High Risk for Accidents
Parents of young teen drivers and auto accident lawyers in Texas will find the results of a new report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, very disturbing.
According to the report, in 2007, young drivers (those between the age of 15 and 20) accounted for close to 1/5th of all traffic accident fatalities in the country. These drivers made up just 9 percent of the national population in 2007, but accounted for 19 percent of traffic fatalities the same year. Those rates must be taken as a wakeup call by our law enforcement agencies – they need to focus harder on this vulnerable section of the Texas population.
Among the many statistics in the report, these really stood out:
- About 2/3rd of these fatalities are either the motorist or his/her passengers.
- Most passenger fatalities in these accidents are in the same age group as the young driver, i.e. between 15 and 20 years.
- Texas had 251 young motorists killed in these crashes in 2007.
- In all, 626 people died in accidents involving young drivers in Texas in 2007.
- In Texas, 89 passenger fatalities in young driver-related accidents were between 15 and 20. Passengers below 15 accounted for 29 fatalities, and those above 20 accounted for 45 deaths. A total of 162 passengers of young drivers died in these accidents.
- Most of these young driver fatalities are involved in accidents on rural Texas roads. There could be a reason for that. Maintenance and repair activities tend to focus on highly trafficked city streets and highways, with lesser attention on country roads.
For three families in the Katy, Texas area, it’s going to be a heartbreaking Christmas this year. Three teenagers, 16-year-old Taylor Contreras, 18-year-old Timothy Laufenberg and 19-year-old Jonathan Fernandez were killed in an accident last weekend. They were traveling on Katy Hockley in the early hours of the morning when their car crashed into a pine tree. The vehicle immediately exploded into flames, killing the three inside.
As parents and Texas auto accident attorneys, we remain very interested in teen driver safety. Strong driving habits developed during the teen years can set the tone for a person’s motoring skills and abilities for the rest of his life. We would like to see law enforcement implementing innovative programs that combine education and entertainment to target teen drivers, who tend to have a lower attention span. Schools in Texas must also step up their driver education efforts. We would also encourage parents to have frequent conversations with their teenage children about the importance of driving at safe speeds, never driving intoxicated, always wearing seatbelts and switching off their cell phones while driving.
If you or a loved one has been involved in an auto accident, contact the Texas auto accident attorneys at The Kahn Law Firm today at 713-226-9900 or toll free 1-877-226-9940.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment