The 100 deadliest days are something that every teen driver in California, and every parent of a newly licensed teen, should know about. It refers to a period when teen driving crash deaths go up, and it spans each year from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Between 2008 and 2018, there were over 8,300 such deaths during the 100 deadliest days in the United States: an average of more than seven deaths for each day of summer.
Teen drivers are naturally going to be negligent and reckless, and it makes sense that this would lead to more crashes and fatalities during summer break. Parents should have a serious talk with their teen about safe driving and, if they have not done so already, create a parent-teen driving agreement.
The agreement should cover unsafe behaviors like speeding, drug- and alcohol-impaired driving and not wearing a seat belt. For a reference, parents could look to the results of a AAA Traffic Safety Culture Index. In a recent study, 72% of respondents aged 16 to 18 admitted to some form of unsafe driving in the past 30 days. Speeding was prominent: 47% said they sped in a residential area, and 40% said they did so on the highway. Texting, 35%, running red lights, 32%, and driving aggressively, 31%, were also mentioned.
Whatever their age, drivers are responsible for keeping their car under control and watching out for other road users’ safety. When accidents occur because of the failure to do this, victims may have a personal injury case on their hands. Proving the breach of duty and showing that it was behind the victim’s reported injuries might be hard without a lawyer, though, so it may be wise to schedule a legal evaluation. A lawyer may be helpful when negotiating, too.
