Personal Injury Blog

Most Common Teen Driver Mistakes

November 7th, 2011
Teen Driver Mistakes

Teen drivers take too many risks

Teen drivers are at a much higher risk of auto accidents than other motorists, mainly because these motorists lack experience.  As a result, they are much more likely to make severe driving errors that can lead to an accident.  The Chicago Tribune has a list of the top 10 teen driver mistakes.

Not surprisingly to Los Angeles car accident lawyers, at the top of the list is distracted driving.  This is one of the biggest challenged facing teen drivers.  According to a survey by Allstate, more than 50% of teen drivers admit to texting while driving.  According to some other surveys, the number of teen drivers who text while driving is actually higher.  One survey by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance, found that 89% of teen drivers admitted that they had seen other teenagers using their cell phones while driving.  More than 50% had also seen their friends using handheld devices like iPods, texting devices and other electronic communication devices.

Another common mistake that teen drivers make is to take too many risks.    Ignoring traffic signals and changing lanes without looking in blind spots can severely increase a driver’s risk of an accident.  Teen motorists are specifically prone to such deliberately destructive behavior.  According to some studies, teenage minds may be much more prone to risk-taking behaviors and impulsive actions.

Teen drivers are also much more likely to drive at excessive speeds, partly because they do not understand how high speeds affect their response times.

Teenagers are also much more likely to have too many passengers in their car.  This can mean an increased risk of accidents, because the higher the number of teenage passengers in the car, the higher the accident risks.  According to one study by Johns Hopkins and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, when a motorist drives with two teenage passengers, his risk of being involved in a fatal accident doubles.

Teenagers are also at a high risk of drunk driving, one of the most serious mistakes that could result in accidents.

Tailgating is another common practice that could increase the risk of accidents.  According to one study by the National Institutes of Health, teenagers left at least 10 feet lower stopping distance from the car in front than other drivers.  Such behavior can be chalked down to recklessness and the typical teen tendency to show off.

One of the mistakes that teen drivers make is to drive without wearing a seatbelt.  According to a survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, only 76% of motorists aged between 16 and 24 admitted that they wore seatbelts regularly.  Those are some of the lowest rates for any category of drivers.

Teenagers are also at a much higher risk for two other potentially deadly mistakes-driving while sleepy, and not maintaining a car.

 

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