Home > Talk of East Texas > Archives > 2009 > June > 24 > Entry
Summertime on roads means danger for teens
Riding high off of graduation and end of school excitement, some studies show teens are more likely to miss the fatal dangers lurking on the roads.
Highway patrols and insurance companies know the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day as the “100 Deadliest Days” for teen drivers with an average 15 young motorists dying every day, according to a survey by Allstate.
August is the deadliest month for teen drivers in Longview and the second deadliest for teen drivers in Tyler, according to Allstate’s Teen Driving Hotspots Study, which analyzed six years of Allstate and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash data.
Janet Matthews of Hallsville, whose daughter Sara recently got her driver’s license, said parents always are going to worry about their kids, but East Texas roads are less aggressive than most.
“I do feel better about her learning to drive in East Texas as opposed to a bigger city like Dallas,” Matthews said.
Edith Welch, instructor for A+ Defensive Driving in Longview, believes some teens are oblivious to the dangers of driving.
“You could talk all day to some people and they’re not going to be a safer driver,” Welch said.
Welch believes some people, old and young, have a responsible driving personality and some don’t. She thinks parents should be able to recognize their own child’s driving personality before he or she ever gets behind the wheel.
“Parents know their child and where their mind is,” she said.
What should teens do to stay safer behind the wheel?
Comments
By Carol H.
June 24, 2009 2:36 PM | Link to this
They should not eat Pizza. Even though P.T.I.S.D will have the best price pizza in town after the bids are recieved.