Hi Member's,

Were you a safe driver as a teen ? Are you a safe driver now ?
I think I was a safe driver as a teen until I started street racing & then got caught Very Expensive/Hard lesson...
Do you think teens now are safe drivers ? The majority of ones I see on the road are driving crazy (WoW, I'm gett'in old)
Please >Post your thoughts on this subject & what the article contains below: `Thank You!

I'm not look'in forward to having a teen & putting him/her out on the public race tracks of our world 4-Sure...(Wow, that's a crazy thought) lol
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Fatal Distraction: Teen Drivers And Passengers Are A Deadly Mix

Studies show that one passenger in a teen driver's car increases fatality risk by 44%, two passengers doubles the risk (I wonder if 3 or more passenger's means that you are sure to crash) ? ? ?

Posted: Mar 13, 2013 | By: Sharon Silke Carty | AOL Autos




This photo shows the charred remains after a fatal wreck Sunday between a tanker loaded with fuel and a car with five teens. (AP)



Teen driving safety is one of those problems that is easy to ignore: So often the tragedies are spread out throughout small towns around the country. One lost life here, two lost there. We don't often piece all those crashes together and realize what's happening to our children.

Sometimes to get change, you need a tipping point. Maybe this week will be it: Since Sunday, 15 teenagers have died in major car accidents around the U.S. Six died after crashing into a pond in Ohio. Five died when they crashed into a tanker truck in Texas. Four died when they crashed into a creek in Illinois.

And that's just the crashes that were major and notable enough to make national news. One teen in Colorado died Sunday when the teen driver of a car he was in crashed into the side of a mobile home. Three died in Indiana when the drivers, in two trucks, ran stop signs and collided head-on. A 15-year-old driver in Maryland died when he was fleeing police in a car. And there are others, many which don't make the news. Crashes that don't end in fatalities but left serious damage: traumatic brain injuries, crippling spinal cord issues.

"The numbers are so small and spread out geographically," said Timothy Hollister, a teen driving safety advocate in Connecticut whose book, "Not So Fast: Parenting Teen Drivers Before They Get Behind The Wheel", comes out in September. "It's only when you put the numbers together nationally that people even begin to take notice."

Driving is the No. 1 killer of teens in this country, accounting for about 25 percent of teen deaths each year. About 3,000 to 5,000 teens die annually in car wrecks, enough to fill the halls of a large high school. Or two.

Recently, the Governor's Highway Safety Association release preliminary figures for 2012 that show a troubling trend: After 10 years of declining, teen driving deaths are on the rise.

Although teen crashes seem random and unpredictable, they actually often follow a predictable pattern: It's likely a group of teens heading nowhere in particular, probably late at night, and going fast. Often, they're not wearing seatbelts.

Researchers have identified the dangerous habits of young drivers, who can't ever be considered safe behind the wheel because they are simply too novice. There's a common thread for many fatal crashes: More than one passenger in the car, especially if those passengers are male.

The Passenger Effect

A study released last year by AAA said passengers have a huge impact on fatalities: Fatality rates went up 44 percent with one passenger under 21 years old, doubled with two passengers, and quadruples when carrying three or more passengers who are under 21 years old.

Many graduated drivers license (GDL) laws regulate how many passengers teens can have in the car before they are awarded a full license. Parents who are concerned about their teens behind the wheel want to pay close attention to this rule: Make sure your teens are driving alone mostly, with no more than one passenger. Don't let them carpool to and from school events. Don't let them head out for the evening with a bunch of other teens in one car. Remember that other passengers are a huge distraction that can turn into a fatal distraction.

Laws regarding passengers in vehicles driven by teens are "the single least enforced and most ignored rule," Hollister said. "It's the one piece that could make a difference. That's parents putting convenience ahead of safety, and not understanding the dangers that every passenger in a teen driver's car adds an additional risk."

Parents, studies show, are the biggest influence on teens and how they drive. So be strict, mom and dad. Your teen's life is at stake.


See more:

What Parents Can Do To Keep Teen Drivers Safe







Teen Drivers Make Common And Fatal Mistakes







Think Driving Schools Make Safer Drivers? Think Again

 

Space, we are all safe until we get caught!!!!

 

ive been a safe one so far no tickets

 

I am for the most part but I still get the occasional road rage or street pull that happens every now and again. I normally cruise 6-7mph over the limit. The main thing that makes me unsafe is having to drive for work dead tired and not remembering driving half the trip I'm so tired. That's the most unsafe and Scarry thing ever let me tell ya.

 

Or being so tired you start drifting off the road. Been there many time. Hate it.

 

Ahh yes the "Bob n weave" been there many times as well. Its the worst feeling in the world.

 

When I was 18, I had my 1971 Mercedes Benz 280SE up to 160 MPH (Speedo Max) on a country road. It took about 5 miles to get that fast. When I got home, I found out that my 30 y/o tires were shredded. All of the tread was gone. I probably should have died that night. Now? I don't speed. I just get up to speed very quickly.

 

I have first hand experience with a bad teenage driver!
14 yrs ago me and my wife of 10yrs. Had our lives devastated by a teen driver that hit us on our new Harley.( I forgot to mention SHE was DRUNK) Which killed my wife of 10 yrs instantly and mameing me for life.
. Teenage drivers today, IMO...
Take driving for granted. Driving is a PRIVELEDGE.
Not... A right of passage. Or an Entitlement.
When I was a teenager I will admittedly say, There was far less traffic on the roads unlike today. I was a fairly safe driver,As I had to drive my parents a lot to and from grocery stores,family get together etc...
Don't get me wrong, I did my share of drag racing etc... And or speeding...
But we did have 2 Drag strips that were close to home back when I was a teenager.
There gone now, But at least we had somewhere safe to race.
I never received a ticket for drag racing,careless or wreckless driving.
But Ive had my share of maybe 5 and 10 overs... (Back then)

I've been driving since age 10, My father taught me how to drive. I didn't receive a license til I was 16. After completing drivers ed in high school.

I use to drive truck for a living... I have received a million mile awards for no tickets or accidents..Cris crossing the United states...
For a better part of 25 years before that fatal wreck in 1997! (Yes im bitter)

 

well said meme....



aside from that....
I'm a fairly safe driver, I've been driving since I was 16 & always on the road. I wave people to pass, keep my distance, & keep my speed at a respectable level.. but like anyone I do have my moments that I want to have a little fun. I raced a couple people before & don't regret any of it. The risk is exciting but I do take my precautions, if I know there is too many cars ahead I won't bother, and I'll do it on roads I know (aware of the danger zones & surroundings) & I will never weave my way through traffic.
I really wish finding a place for legal racing wasn't so difficult, or even out of state. Long Island, Ny used to have a couple & unfortunatly they've been shut down..Only quarter strip I know of is somewere in new jersey..

 

Aside from the occasional napping while driving, which I usually don't run into anymore i'd say i'm a safe driver. Speeds usually aren't that high and I haven't even raced anyone or even come close to that, no tickets either. Though I have been pulled over twice. But man the things I see going back and forth to school and all the close calls I've had. Some people are flippin crazy.