Driving risks for teens identified

Teenagers have long been considered a risk on the highway. A new study shows that younger drivers are involved in more collisions than other age groups. \nThe study, conducted by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, revealed that in 2006, 25 percent of licensed drivers ages 16 and 17 were involved in collisions. Young drivers had the highest number of driving fatalities, and for drivers ranging from ages 16 to 19 involved in fatal crashes, 28.2 percent were legally intoxicated.\n“When we are young we seem to have an aura of invincibility, especially teenagers who are getting their license for the first time,” said Sgt. Curt Durnil of the Indiana State Police. “Many students think they are 10 feet tall and bulletproof and often take for granted the serious responsibility they have been given behind the wheel.”\nTo explain these results, the study found five key contributing factors to determine why adolescent drivers continue to be involved in driving accidents at a higher rate than other age groups.\nAccording to the nationally conducted study, the risk factor suggests that although 15- to 20-year-olds represent 8.4 percent of the U.S population and 6.3 percent of licensed drivers, they still account for 13.6 percent of drivers involved in major car collision or accidents.\nThe state of Indiana has also been witnessing an unusual amount of fatalities in drivers between the ages of 17 and 24, said Indiana State Police Capt. George Schneider.\n“There is no real one common denominator” that police can contribute to young persons involved in fatal accidents at this point, though they are working on seat-belt enforcement regulations, he said.\nDurnhil, who said he remembers his first fatal accident response involved two teenage deaths in 1996, recommends to all young drivers to keep all distractions to a very minimum when on the roads and to use all precautionary measures that may not be deemed necessary.\nBesides just following the rules of the road, getting good rest and staying sober still remain a problem among youth today, Durnhil said.\nAnother nationwide factor includes alcohol involved crashes, a risk that usually begins when drivers are given their licenses around age 16. The danger of alcohol-related collisions and deaths reach their peak when drivers are between the ages of 20 to 24, according to the national study.\nPassengers are also serious hazard for youngsters on the road. Many organizations in Indiana promote car pooling to decrease air pollution and traffic congestion, according to the Central Indiana Commuter Services Web site. However, a large numbers of fatalities occur when the driver is 16 to 17 years old and have other passengers in the car with them, according to the study.\nAnother deadly factor includes lack of supervision; when young drivers move away from home, they have fewer constraints on their driving time. In fact, the time when the most fatal crashed occur among newly licensed drivers is after 9 p.m., according to the study. \nFor more information on the study, visit the Indiana State Police Web site at http://www.in.gov/isp/.