Teen drivers are approximately 50 percent more likely to crash in the first month of driving than they are after a full year of experience driving on their own, according to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Car accidents have long-time been one of the leading causes of teen deaths in America, but this new study found that three common mistakes - failure to reduce speed, , failure to yield and inattention– made up for 57 percent of all crashes where teens were partially responsible and within their first month of driving
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Researchers conducting the study found that specific types of accidents sometimes occurred at high rates at first for new drivers and declined particularly quickly with experience, like crashes involving left hand turns. In a related AAA Foundation study, in-vehicle cameras were used in cars with teens learning to drive with parents and then the first 6 months of licensed driving without parents in the car. The research found that teens drove much different than when their parents were in the car and the number of close-call car accidents went up significantly.

At my personal injury law firm in Fort Worth, we’ve represented so many teens that have been hurt in car wrecks and so many adults who have been injured by teen drivers. When letting your teen drive on their own, don’t push them right into the deep in. Give them increased driving freedom only when they’ve proved they can be a safe driver over a specific amount of time. Just putting extra attention into monitoring when, where and with who your teen driver is riding around with can significantly decrease their risk of a car wreck.

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