Presented By:
Susan D. Ament, Esq.

Motor vehicle-related injuries are the biggest health threat to teenagers in the United States.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle-related injuries are the biggest health threat to teenagers in the United States, accounting for two of five deaths among teens ages 16 to 19 years. The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.

Be aware of high risk categories.
• Males: In 2005, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was more than one and a half times that of their female counterparts.
• Teens driving with teen passengers: The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with the number of teen passengers.
• Newly licensed teens: Crash risk is particularly high during the first year that teenagers are eligible to drive.

When parents know their state’s GDL laws, they can help enforce the laws and, in effect, help keep their teen drivers safe.

Research suggests that the most comprehensive graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs are associated with reductions of 38% and 40% in fatal and injury crashes, respectively, among 16-year-old drivers. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are designed to delay full licensure while allowing teens to get their initial driving experience under low-risk conditions. To learn more about the Office of Highway Safety’s GDL Parent Orientation program, call (302) 744-2743.

Driver’s education is just the beginning.

Parents should not rely solely on driver education to provide teens the significant knowledge and experience that they need to become safe drivers. Completing driver education should be viewed as the beginning of the learning process, not the end. More important to safe driving, research shows, is the opportunity to improve driving skills through gradual exposure to increasingly-challenging driving tasks. Teens become safer drivers with more driving experience.

If your teenage driver is injured in an accident that was not their fault, the Morris James’ Personal Injury Group has experienced attorneys to help parents and teenagers understand insurance issues and their rights.

Susan D’Alonzo Ament is a partner with Morris James LLP and has practiced for 26 years representing personal injury victims. Some women are not aware that when they sign a driver’s license application for their teen driver and/or furnish a vehicle to a teen driver, they are subject to statutory liability under 21 Del C. §6104 and 6105. Therefore, it is imperative that parents have adequate insurance coverage for their teenagers. Susan Ament educates women on these needs every day in her practice and in seminars that she presents throughout the year.

For further information call us at 302-655-2599
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302-651-3589 for a free consultation.