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Over the course of 2013, close to 4,000 motorists between the ages of 15 and 20 were involved in fatal car accidents according to the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA). Thousands of teenage drivers took their own lives or the lives of others as a result of inexperience or careless driving.

When evaluating the crash rate based on the number of miles driven, Injury Prevention reports teens have by far the highest crash rating of any demographic group. While younger teens tend to have the highest rate of crashes relative to total miles driven, crash rates do not level off and become comparable to other demographic groups until a motorist is somewhere between 25 and 30 years of age. Preventing some of the unsafe behaviors of this younger demographic group could save lives, so it is important to develop the most effective approaches to help teens avoid collisions.  Positive peer pressure could be one possible answer.

When teens make dangerous choices behind the wheel, the victims’ lives may be changed forever. A Ft. Myers personal injury attorney like Randall Spivey should be consulted whenever a careless young driver causes injury to passengers or others on the road as a result of negligence or wrongdoing.  The financial, physical and emotional loss from a collision can result in millions of dollars in damages; so, victims need to know their rights. Teens also need to do everything possible to avoid getting into a devastating crash in the first place to avoid such tremendous damages.

Peer Pressure Can be a Helpful Tool

GHSA has indicated parents are “the number one influence on their novice drivers.”  However, teens spend a significant amount of their free time not necessarily with their parents, but with coaches, teachers, other adults and peers. Teens between the age of 15 and 17 spend, on average, five hours every day in school, participating in sports and extracurricular activities, as well as working at a job, according to GHSA.  During the time they spend with these other influencers, teenagers may benefit from receiving positive messages on how to drive more safely.

Different programs are being developed with the goal of helping adults to better encourage teen driver safety, including a science program organized by 4-H to help illustrate distracted driving dangers, as well as a program for athletic coaches to help teens learn about graduated licensing laws. With more adults besides parents stepping in to help teens understand safe driving behaviors, teens may be more apt to take the message to heart.  In some cases, however, teens need to hear messages about safe driving not from the adults in their lives, but from their own peers.

A paper published in Injury Prevention is one of many sources that recognizes peer pressure is likely to make a significant impact on whether a teen will drive responsibly or not.  The research for the Injury Prevention paper indicated: “The driving behavior of peers sets a norm that is an understandable influence on young drivers. Peer passengers can also influence young drivers' behavior...” 

Having teenage crash victims come and share their experiences with other young people could be one possible way for peer pressure to work positively to help teens make safer choices as they drive. Public education campaigns like the successful Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk could also encourage young people to speak up if they see their friends engaged in dangerous driving activities.

Unfortunately, accidents are still likely to happen even if some teen behavior changes. Victims need to understand all options, and a personal injury attorney can help throughout the entire process of resolving injury claims. Call the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. today.