National Teen Driver Safety Week: Safety tips and information

KIRKSVILLE, Missouri — October 20-26 is National Teen Driver Safety Week.

The National Road Safety Foundation says that an average of seven teenagers die in road accidents across the country every day. 56% of teen passenger deaths occurred in cars driven by another teen. Among the deaths of passengers of various ages, 15% happened with a teenager at the wheel.

Sergeant Justin Dunn, public information officer for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, told KTVO some of the dangers young or inexperienced drivers face.

• Driving at night
• Distracted driving
• Improper car maintenance
• Speed ​​control
• Unclimatic weather

The National Security Council contains a list of tips for driving after dark.

• Use high beam when it is safe to do so.
• When approaching the bright headlights, look at the line on the right side of the lane.
• Reduce speed

Sergeant Dunn says when it comes to night driving, practice makes perfect.

“Get these kids out there. Give them time behind the wheel. Give them that experience so they can be more proficient at it when they go out on their own.”

Teenage drivers often have trouble controlling their speed. Dunn told KTVO that 47 percent of teenage crashes are due to speeding.

This is one of the main causes of accidents on the road, as well as drunk driving.

Dunn says the best way to control your speed is to pay attention and follow the rules of the road.

“Speed ​​really kills. Statistics show that car accident fatalities can happen at speeds of 12 mph or less, so you don’t have to be going fast to get killed, you just have to do something wrong to get killed. behind the wheel.”

There are more distractions for drivers now than ever, be it cell phones, radios or even bright lights.

“If we do anything other than be careful while driving, we open ourselves up to bad things,” Dunn told KTVO.

Another distraction for Dunn is the passengers.

“I know Missouri is doing different things (to combat distractions). They have intermediate driving privileges that try to limit a lot of that for teenage drivers to make it safer for them.”

Drunk driving, whether due to drugs or alcohol, is also very dangerous. Dunn says it’s not just adults who do this.

“One out of every 10 teenagers sits behind the wheel in a state of alcohol intoxication or in an inebriated state. They don’t have the experience necessary to be able to drive (normally) and when alcohol or drugs are added to the mix, it’s just a recipe for disaster. They are always advised not to do this.”

Putting down your phone and driving sober are two ways teens and adults can be safer on the road.

“People die every year on Missouri roads and on all roads in the United States because someone made a bad decision, such as trying to drink and drive or drive while distracted,” Dunn said. “There is no reason for this. We can eliminate these things. It’s a choice we make when we get behind the wheel. We want to be sure that we are making the right choice. Driving is a full-time job and we need to make sure that we give full-time driving our full attention.”

The weather in Hartland is often bad throughout the year. Dunn provided advice on navigating these conditions.

• Leave early
• Reduce speed
• Take your time
• Inspect your vehicle before bad weather
• Check the condition of your tires

“As these weather conditions persist and change, we want to be aware of these changes in our vehicles and respond freely to them,” Dunn said. “We need to know how vehicle mechanics work, how brake systems work. We know that when there is a lot of rain on the road, a lot of water, you can fly a seaplane, so we want to reduce the speed, the same with Kryzhan or a slush road works differently in those situations.”

Dunn also said it’s important to know what to do if you’re involved in an accident. He also shared tips on how to do it.

• If possible, move the vehicle off the road to a safe location
• If anyone is injured, call 911. If no one is injured, call *55 or 1-800-525-5555 to contact the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
• Stay in the vehicle

“Your human instinct is to want to get out of the car and run away from it, but we always recommend that you stay in the car until we get the emergency services to help you if you need it and transport the vehicles and tell you, where go to safety,” Dunn told us.

Parents can play a big role in preparing teenagers for the roads, but it is impossible to do it alone.

“Obviously, we can’t prepare them for everything they’re going to encounter when they hit the road,” Dunn said. “The important thing we always recommend is to send them to a driver’s education course if they can get into one. Many are already obsolete across the state; schools no longer offer such programs, but they still exist. You may have to pay for your child to go.’

Dunn says the primary learning tool is experience.

“I know it’s scary for new drivers. As parents, we must teach them proper behavior. We have to give them time behind the wheel. Start them driving during the day, not too heavy traffic, and then start Make sure they drive at night so they can get that experience, and then I know that we want to have control and we don’t want to give up the reign comes to this, but how our will children gain experience if we don’t put them behind the wheel and let them navigate these situations?”

As a community, we can make our roads safer by:

• Obey all traffic rules
• Limit distractions
• Always wear a seat belt
• Never drive a car in a state of health

“It makes the road safer for everybody,” Dunn told KTVO. “You can do everything in your power to be the safest driver possible, but we also know that people won’t. We need to spread awareness, we need to educate everyone so we can make every day a safer day to be on Missouri’s roadways.”