If you’re a parent, you know how it feels when your teenager is beginning to learn how to drive. You’re probably very nervous. Some of this has to do with social situations, as parents worry about their children gaining a new degree of freedom. But there’s also just a very realistic fear that your child will be injured in a car accident.
This fear is justified, because teenagers have the highest fatal accident rate of any age group. On top of that, since they are such a small age group, this means that the amount of accidents they cause are highly disproportionate to the group itself.
Why is it that they are involved in so many of these crashes? Here’s what you should know:
Drivers lack experience
One potential reason is young drivers just don’t have the experience to make the right choices. When things happen quickly, they make mistakes because they’re still figuring out how to drive and honing their skills. There’s no way around this other than having drivers get more experience.
They could be distracted
It is certainly not fair to say that teenagers are the only ones who suffer from driving distractions, as they are common with any age group. But it is also true that teenagers do get distracted by phones, by passengers and by many other things in the car. This leads to accidents because it takes their attention off of the road.
They may face peer pressure
In some cases, peers will actually pressure drivers to drive in an unsafe manner. They may tell them to speed, for instance, or to engage in a road race with another vehicle. These are things that the driver may not have done on their own, but they may do it as a response to that pressure, trying to fit in with their peer group.
In any case, those who have been injured in accidents caused by teen drivers may need to know exactly what options they have to seek financial compensation.