Tonight's Good Question emerged out of a panel I moderated for the Minnesota FCCLA today. They have a program called FACTS, Families Acting For Community Traffic Safety. It made me wonder: why are teenagers such bad drivers?
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tracks all of this. Mile-per-mile, the fatal crash rate for teens far exceeds any other age group. Traffic crashes are the leading cause for death for teenagers in America, and it's not even close. Last year, around 5500 teens died in crashes.
Minnesota just put some new laws in place, limiting nighttime driving and teen passengers. But those limits only apply for the first six months after you get your drivers license. Is this enough?
I remember crashing my dad's station wagon when I was driving my then-girlfriend to the Homecoming Dance. Any memories of crashes you want to share? The problem has to be more than just inattentive driving and inexperience.
UPDATE: My friend Greg tells me about a client his PR firm represents, that is also trying to spread the word to teenagers about deadly crashes. HolidayHolla.com is a contest put on by KeepTheDrive.com. Like a lot of these efforts, KeepTheDrive is sponsored by an insurance company (the Allstate Foundation). The FCCLA program has a grant from State Farm.
