Heads Up Maryland Parents : Teen Car Accident Rates Go Down When Parents Set Road Rules

If you’re a parent in Maryland with a teenage driver on the road, you might be interested in a study about teen driving safety and supervision.

The journal Pediatrics reports that teen car accidents are less likely to happen in families where parents lay down ground rules before the kids take to the road.

The study was conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which surveyed 5,500 teenagers. The results showed that young drivers are less likely to be involved in car accidents when parents restrict access to the car keys. Researchers concluded that requiring teens to ask for the car keys gives parents more opportunities to supervise their driving habits and set rules for safety.

Families may consult a Baltimore County, Maryland car accident injury lawyer when an automobile crash with injury or death occurs and they have questions about driver liability.

Teens on Maryland roadways can be a hazard not only to themselves but to their passengers and to other motorists and pedestrians they encounter in their travels. Annually in the United States — 166,000 teens aged 16 or 17 are injured and some 1,800 are killed as a result of motor vehicle accidents. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in PEDIATRICS Vol. 124 No. 4 October 2009.)

Lack of driving experience combined with distractions such as texting and multiple teenagers in a car can lead to teens making deadly driving mistakes. The Philadelphia study also showed that teens who own their own cars or have free access to their parents’ car keys and automobiles are more likely to be involved in motor vehicle accidents. In fact 70 percent of U.S. household allows teens free access to family cars — a risky practice.

Sources:
The Parent Report
WBZNews.com Aug. 20, 2010
Primary Access to Vehicles Increases Risky Teen Driving Behaviors and Crashes: National Perspective
Pediatrics Oct. 2009