AAA says the next 100 days are the deadliest for teen drivers, and those who share the roads with them.
Last year, teen drivers were involved in almost 20,000 crashes in Florida in the 100 days between Memorial and Labor days, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Sixty eight of these crashes were fatal.
AAA’s Mark Jenkins said a number of factors makes this time of year deadlier than others, including distracted driving, speeding and not wearing a safety belt.
“You have young, inexperienced teenage drivers who are out of school, and they have more time on their hands to spend behind the wheel. Oftentimes, they're driving with other teen passengers, which is one of the top distractions for teen drivers,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins said parents should lead by example when it comes to safe driving, and provide additional training when needed.
“There’s AAA's how to drive online course. There's also different in-person driving schools that they could enroll their teen in and they could visit the AAA-approved driving school network online and they can search from a list of vetted approved driving schools to find one that's the right fit for them," Jenkins said.
Jenkins says families should also consider conducting at least 50 hours of supervised practice driving with their teens, and teach kids defensive driving.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of all teen driver-related deaths occur during the 100 Deadliest Days.
AAA’s How to Drive Online is a 25-hour online course that features additional driver training for teens. The group also curates a database of driving schools at the AAA Approved Driving School Network.
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