Ok, so we are only mid-winter, but already young girls
fancies are turning to thoughts of their school proms and
graduations.
Prom night and graduation parties represents a high
risk time for these young debutants and parents had better
come prepared.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
reports that at age 16, which is the highest risk age for
drivers, 48% of deaths were passengers and slightly more
16-year-old females were killed as passengers than as
drivers.
More females will be a passenger of a male teen driver
on prom night than any other time of the year across North
America.
Speeding, alcohol use, multiple passengers and driving
between 12:00 am and 3:00 am represents the deadliest
combination of factors and is the prime recipe for car
crashes.
In year 2000, 34% of male drivers involved in fatal
crashes were speeding. In 2000, 23% of speeding drivers
involved in fatal crashes were also intoxicated. Between
midnight and 3:00 am, 77% of speeding drivers involved in
fatal accidents were intoxicated.
Get the picture yet?
Parents who want to reduce the risk of their child’s
involvement in a car crash should do the following:
-
Check your brakes and brake fluid. Teenagers speed
the most. While teens are interested in how fast the
car can go, parents should be interested in how well
the car can stop. Make sure your vehicle is in its
best mechanical shape if your teen is taking to the
wheel.
-
Limit the number of passengers your teen is allowed
to transport. The risk of a car crash goes up
exponentially for each passenger added.
-
Be a good role model and do not drink and drive
what-so-ever. Teens are very sensitive to hypocrisy
and determine their behavior by what they observe in
their parent, not by what the parent says. Tell you
teen not to drink and drive and lead by example.
-
Insist that your teen and all passengers wear their
seat belts and again, lead by example. Parents must
wear their seat belt too.
-
Do not allow your teen to drive after midnight. If
transportation is required after midnight, make
alternate arrangements. Act as chauffeur, car pool
with another parent or arrange for a taxi. It is
better that the parent loses one night’s sleep than
the life of their child.
Remember, the Prom is but one night a year. To be
really safe, parents must concern themselves with teen
driver safety 365 days a year. Even with Prom night
occurring in the spring, most fatal car crashes actually
occur in the summertime. Safe driving doesn’t take a
holiday.
To ensure safe driving year round, parents are
recommended to participate in safe driving programs such
as the I Promise Program. The I Promise Program has
parents and a teen enter into a mutual safe driving
contract and then provides a means for their mutual
accountability. This program has been developed with the
input of thousands of persons from organizations
worldwide.
Parents who want to prepare best for Prom night and the
other 365 nights of the year can go to
