The end of the school year can bee a dangerous time for teen drivers as prom, graduation and the start of summertime freedom can lead to risky behavior and dangerous driving leading up through the Fourth of July.
There are 13 million driving-aged teenagers in the U.S., according to census data.
With 23 percent of teens admitting to driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or other drugs, as many as 3 million impaired teen drivers may be taking to the roads during the upcoming months, according to a new survey from Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions.
Even though a vast majority of teens consider themselves safe or cautious drivers (91 percent), many of them don’t consider alcohol, marijuana or other drugs a distraction or deterrent to their driving ability.
Of teens whom admitted to drinking and driving, nearly 40 percent claim that alcohol has no impact on or even improves their driving. Among teens admitting to driving under the influence of marijuana, the large majority (75 percent) feel the same way.
With more than 3,000 teen driving deaths each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, parents are urged to have potentially life-saving conversations with their teens before it’s too late.
“The end of the school year and the summer months are exciting times for teens, but they are also the most dangerous,” Dave Melton, a driving safety expert with Liberty Mutual Insurance and managing director of global safety, said in a statement. “A celebratory toast can quickly lead to serious consequences down the line. These new data illustrate that there is clearly a strong need to increase the level of education around safe driving. More importantly, it’s a flag for parents to make sure they talk to their kids regularly about the importance of safe driving behavior.”
According to the survey, about one in four teens who have driven under the influence of marijuana (25 percent) or prescription drugs (23 percent), and about one in seven teens who report drinking and driving (14 percent), say “not at all.”
This cavalier attitude toward driving under the influence is made more somber in light of recent data from the Governors Highway Safety Association which found an alarming 19 percent increase in the number of teen driver deaths (ages 16 and 17) in the first half of 2012.
“The fact that an overwhelming number of teens admit to extremely unsafe driving habits and completely dismiss any risk concern yet still consider themselves safe drivers means either teens have a different definition of ‘safe’ or we need to do a better job of educating kids about the dangers of this type of behavior,” Melton said.
According to the survey findings, about one in ten teens (11 percent) reports driving under the influence of alcohol during the summer. The coming months are punctuated with a series of celebratory events that often involve the use of alcohol or other drugs. During prom and graduation season, the Fourth of July and the weeks before school resumes in the fall, as many as 1.4 million teens could be driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
Teens that have driven under the influence of alcohol and other drugs during or after one of these events/times.
Summer Driving in General: 11 percent
Fourth of July: 8 percent
Prom Night: 6 percent
Graduation/Post Graduation: 5 percent
“We know that teens are more likely to drink around events such as Fourth of July, which are less supervised than prom or graduation. It is up to parents to talk to their teens about the dangers of driving under the influence. The Parent/Teen Driving Contract is a great way to start important conversations with your teen,” Stephen Wallace, senior advisor for policy, research and education at SADD, said in a statement.
Parents are encouraged to talk to their teens and have them sign a Parent/Teen Driving Contract. The customized agreement enables parents to create and uphold family driving rules, especially during this dangerous time of year.
