The California Highway Patrol’s Impact Teen Drivers program is aimed at raising awareness about the specific risks and dangers facing teen drivers on roads in California. Since reckless and distracted driving is the number-one killer of teens in the U.S., the Impact Teen Drivers program puts an emphasis on the importance of safe and focused driving behaviors. In addition to the free material they offer online, Impact Teen Drivers also has direct training sessions that are available through their grassroots framework of community-centric organizing. Impact Teen Drivers is about addressing the very real public heath crisis that is distracted and reckless driving on roads in California and across the country.
Teens and Distracted Driving
Not surprisingly, one of the most dangerous problems facing teen drivers (and drivers of all ages) is texting or engaging in other forms of distracted driving. Texting while driving is the trifecta of distractions behind the wheel. Not only is it a visual and manual distraction, it’s also a very serious cognitive distraction. Even for the most experienced and skillful of texters, anytime you’re texting while driving, your cognitive processing abilities are being channeled away from the road and into your text communication. This also brings to mind the research showing that hands-free devices aren’t substantially safer than handheld devices behind the wheel.
The Facts on Teen Drivers
- Teen driver crashes are the leading cause of death for the nation’s youth.
- The National Young Driver Survey reported that 20 percent of 11th grade drivers reported at least one crash in the past year.
- In the U.S., one in four crash fatalities involves someone between the ages of 16 and 24 years old.
- The crash fatality rate is highest for 16 to 17-year-olds within the first six months of licensure.
Teen Driving Accidents in San Jose
Teen drivers are less experienced than other drivers on the road. They also have a variety of risk factors, like distracted driving, which can make the event of an injury causing or fatal car crash even more likely.
Alexander Law Group, LLP is always ready to answer questions and share the results of our research and experience with the public. Our goal is to make a difference for our clients and for all of the powerless in need of care in a legal system that is skewed against them.
