Car crashes are now the top cause of death among teenagers. While teenage drivers cause many of the fatal and nonfatal crashes that take place across New York and the nation, drivers and passengers traveling in cars not driven by the teenager often wind up injured or killed. The number of car crashes involving teenage drivers also spikes during the span between Memorial Day and Labor Day when most teens are out of the classroom and therefore spending more time out on the road.
Per the New York State Department of Health, a summer combination of more free time, less parental supervision and more nighttime driving together enhances crash risks for teen drivers – and injury and fatality risks for everyone they come across. Because the summer driving season is so dangerous, safety advocates and others have taken to calling the span between Memorial Day and Labor Day summer’s “100 Deadliest Days.”
100 Deadliest Day statistics
Car crashes are now the top cause of death among teens ages 16 and 17 in New York. However, more than two-thirds of those who die in crashes caused by teen drivers are not, in fact, the teen drivers who caused the wreck.
100 Deadliest Day crash contributors
Many different factors contribute to fatal and nonfatal summer crashes involving teens. Alcohol is a common factor, and so, too, is speed. Driver distraction is another common variable in many teenage driver-involved car crashes, and so, too, is the presence of other teenagers in a vehicle.
Parents of new drivers may wish to set restrictions with regard to who their teens may drive with and when. Many injury- or fatality-involved crashes caused by teen drivers take place after dark and when multiple teens are traveling in the same vehicle.