Reckless Driving
Many drivers put others and themselves at risk every time they get behind the wheel and drive recklessly. When parents are out of sight, teenage drivers — who are just starting to get a feel for the road — engage in reckless driving behavior to impress their friends and test their limits. According to statistics, a teenager is more likely to die in a wrongful death car accident than to die of homicide, suicide, illness, or any other safety hazard. Five to six thousand teen drivers die in automobile accidents every year in the United States. Tragically, many of these fatal crashes are due to preventable driving errors.
As car accident lawyers in San Diego, we have handled countless terrible cases with teens, with many reckless driving and DUI car accidents that are easily preventable. Car accident attorneys and parents know that teens want to be seen as “cool” and part of a social group. They like to experiment with driving and see how far they can go, and their hormones, many times, just get in the way of sound judgment.
As car accident lawyers, we know that many teens do something and then think, as opposed to thinking before doing something behind the wheel of a car. Teen drivers engage in reckless driving mainly because they are less able to perceive the risk involved. They have difficulty identifying hazards that could lead to a car accident and often overestimate their ability to handle the hazards they do identify. Teen drivers also tend to bring along passengers that distract them from driving and encourage them to participate in reckless driving practices which include speeding, racing or driving games.
Unfortunately, millions of parents continue to believe that their child’s new license guarantees responsible driving. Every day, about 20 more parents must plan a funeral for a child who did not live long enough to graduate from high school, get married or have a family of their own. To add to this tragedy, many parents must also live with the realization that their teen’s reckless driving caused injury or wrongful death to innocent people involved in the auto accident.
Teen driving is too important to ignore where serious accidents take place almost daily. Here are some ways that you can make sure your teen driver knows the dangers of reckless driving:
- Spend a mere 15 minutes of “do not engage in reckless driving” talk. This could potentially save many lives on the road.
- Do not settle for the minimum amount of driver’s education as required by the law. Driver’s education is criticized by many for not teaching teenagers how to drive, but merely teaching them to pass the driver’s license test.
- The NHTSA suggests that parents supervise approximately 50-100 hours of their teenager’s driving to teach them valuable driving skills that can only be obtained through experience.
In fact, most car accidents can be prevented by avoiding the following simple mistakes:
- Speeding.
- Not wearing a seatbelt.
- Being distracted by passengers, cell phones, food, or loud music.
- Failing to heed signs in school zones.
- Driving when tired.
In addition to real-life experiences, new drivers can also gain experience reacting to hazards by playing the free Road Ready Streetwise game online. Help your teen driver make the most of the game by reading instructional tips in the game’s parent guide.
If you do not believe that your teen has the skills necessary to drive alone, insist that he or she drives with an adult or enrolls in additional driver’s training courses. As car accident lawyers, we believe that this is very important because this may save the lives of many people on the road. Our car accident law firm has handled cases where the tears of relatives and loved ones are never-ending, and that could have been prevented with a little more experience on the road or some simple advice that would have prevented a wrongful death car accident.
Call us now or click here for a FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced automobile accident attorney as to how we may help you at 1-800-655-6585. We look forward to providing good advice to help you make smart decisions about your case.
