100 Deadliest Days of Summer Fact Sheet

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  • Summer is sun, barbeques, beach and vacation. It’s also a deadly time to be a teen driver. Memorial Day weekend marked the beginning of the 100 Deadliest Days of driving for teens.

  • Teen crash deaths increase by 15 percent between Memorial Day and Labor Day, compared with other times of the year.

  • The spike in deaths makes a bad reality worse: motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional death for young people ages 16-25 in Washington.

  • Young drivers face an increased crash risk due to both their inexperience and immaturity. Studies show that young drivers, who are just learning to drive, lack the skills and experience necessary to recognize and respond to risk appropriately.

  • Additionally, studies also recognize age-related immaturity as a key factor in dangerous decision-making on the road.

By the Numbers

  • 31% of traffic fatalities involved young drivers between 2015 and 2017, even though they comprise only 14% of licensed drivers in Washington.

  • 61% of fatal crashes with a young driver included impairment as a factor (2015-2017).

  • Twice as many male drivers 16–25 years of age in particular are more than twice as likely to be impaired in fatal crashes as compared to men aged 36–45.

  • 60% of high school seniors reported riding in the car with a driver who was texting (2016).

  • 44% The chances of a young driver (16 or 17) being killed in a crash when they have a passenger under the age of 21 with them increases 44% per mile driven (2012).

Parents/Guardians Can Make a Difference: by Being Road Models

Research (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) shows that, compared to teens who perceive their parents as uninvolved, teens who perceive their parents as authoritative are:

  • 50% less likely to crash

  • 71% less likely to drive intoxicated

  • 30% less likely to use a cell phone when driving

  • 50% more likely to buckle up

Parental or adult involvement makes a difference. Be a Road Model. Here are some suggestions.

5 Rules

Parents should insist their driving teens adhere to 5 rules while driving:

  1. No cell phone

  2. No extra passengers

  3. No speeding

  4. No alcohol or drugs

  5. Buckle up

Prepare

Use the following resources to be an active participant and coach to teach your teen how to be a safe driver.

This comprehensive guide is a great resource for parents with teen drivers. The guide covers:

  • Knowing and enforcing the driving laws

  • Knowing the Intermediate driver license requirements and holding teens accountable to the rules

  • Certifying that your teen has completed at least 50 hours of supervised driving, including 10 hours at night

  • Setting family driving rules and limits

  • Talking to other parents to make sure they are enforcing the same rules with their teens

The app is the perfect companion to the Parent’s Guide. It provides a digital way to log required learner’s practice miles, with a social component to allowing teens to share their accomplishments with peers.

  • TeendrivingAAA: With interactive tools and resources, including widgets and a webinar for parents, AAA provides parents with great resources and advice to help them become effective in-car coaches, with advice on managing their teen’s overall driving privileges.

  • Young Driver Parenting: A non-profit organization offers training, tips and resources for parents, including sample safe driving agreements that parents and each young driver in the family can sign and follow.

  • Download the Life360 app…that can track and share the driving behaviors of everyone in the family. This lets everyone you choose who has the app see each other’s driving history (like speed, sudden acceleration, hard braking). More than just a way to monitor teens, it encourages conversation among all family members about how each is driving, helping create a culture of driving safety within your family.

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