![\"AAA\"](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/AAA.gif\" "\\"AAA\\"")
Knoxville, TN <\/strong>– Over the past five years, more than 5,000 people have been killed in crashes involving teen drivers during the \u201c100 Deadliest Days,\u201d the period starting at Memorial Day when teen crash deaths historically climb.<\/p>\nAs the summer driving season begins, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is releasing a follow-up study confirming that nearly 60 percent of teen crashes involve distractions behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
Crashes for teen drivers increase significantly during the summer months because teens drive more during this time of year.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s new follow-up report<\/span><\/a> from the AAA Foundation is part of the most comprehensive eight-year research project ever conducted into crash videos of teen drivers. In collaboration with researchers at the University of Iowa, the AAA Foundation analyzed the moments leading up to a crash in more than 2,200 videos captured from in-car dash cameras.<\/p>\n The latest report compared new crash videos with those captured from 2007 -2012 and found consistent trends in the top three distractions for teens when behind the wheel in the moments leading up to a crash:<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day during the summer driving season, an average of 10 people die as a result of injuries from a crash involving a teen driver\u201d said Jurek Grabowski, Research Director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. \u201cThis new research shows that distraction continues to be one of the leading causes of crashes for teen drivers. By better understanding how teens are distracted on the road, we can better prevent deaths throughout the 100 Deadliest Days and the rest of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers also found that how teens use their cell phone when behind the wheel changed significantly over the course of the study. In the moments leading up to a crash, teens were more likely to be texting or looking down at the phone than talking on it. This supports findings by Pew Research Center, which shows text messaging has become a key component in day-to-day interactions amongst teenagers. Fifty-five percent of teens spend time every day texting, sending an estimated 80 text messages per day.<\/p>\n [320left]\u201cIt\u2019s no secret that teens are extremely connected to their cell phones,\u201d said Don Lindsey, Tennessee Public Affairs Director, AAA \u2013 The Auto Club Group. \u201cMany teens are texting or using social media behind the wheel more often than in the past, which is making an unsafe situation even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Research by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that texting creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. A recent AAA Foundation survey shows that nearly 50 percent of teen drivers admitted they had read a text message or email while driving in the past 30 days. NHTSA\u2019s National Occupant Protection Use Survey also shows that from 2007 to 2014, the percentage of young drivers seen visibly manipulating a hand-held device quadrupled.<\/p>\n \u201cNearly two-thirds of people injured or killed in crashes involving a teen driver are people other than the teen themselves,\u201d continued Lindsey. \u201cThis shows that teen drivers can be a risk to everyone on the road and it is important to regulate their actions when behind the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n Keeping cell phones out of the hands of teen drivers is a top priority for AAA. The Association\u2019s advocacy efforts are helping to protect teens by working to pass graduated driver licensing laws and teen wireless bans in states across the country.<\/p>\n In preparation for the \u201c100 Deadliest Days\u201d, AAA encourages parents to educate their teen about the dangers of distracted driving and monitor their actions behind the wheel. Parents should:<\/p>\n TeenDriving.AAA.com<\/span><\/a> has a variety of tools to help prepare parents and teens for the dangerous summer driving season. The online AAA StartSmart<\/span><\/a> program also offers great resources for parents on how to become effective in-car coaches as well as advice on how to manage their teen\u2019s overall driving privileges. Teens preparing for the responsibility of driving should enroll in a driver education program that teaches how to avoid driver distraction and other safety skills.<\/p>\n![\"100](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/100-Deadliest-Days-for-Teens.jpg\" "\\"100")
<\/a>The research also finds a disturbing trend showing that texting and social media use are on the rise amongst teen drivers.<\/p>\nOver the past five years during the \u201c100 Deadliest Days\u201d:<\/h3>\n
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About the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety<\/h3>\n