This summer, it’s likely that there will be an increase in fatal teen accidents. But it doesn’t have anything to do with 2024 specifically. Every summer, the federal Department of Transportation identifies the “100 deadliest days of summer” as the stretch from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There is always an increase in fatal accidents involving teenagers.
There are many different reasons for this. Some teens cause accidents because they have friends in the car with them and they get distracted. Others cause accidents just because they lack experience and skill as drivers. They may be more likely to break the speed limit, race other drivers, run stop signs or make other avoidable errors and dangerous decisions.
But this is true all year around, so what is it about the summer that makes it increasingly dangerous?
The break from school
The problem is that teenagers are on break from school. Statistically speaking, this just increases the amount of time that they spend on the road. With more free time, teens visit their friends, take road trips, go to social gatherings, drive to the beach and much more.
They’re not doing anything that is specifically dangerous. It’s just that most teenagers, if they drive at all during the school year, are mainly just driving to school and back. Spending eight hours at school keeps them off of the road and keeps everyone safer. But the summer break gives them more freedom, they end up putting in more hours behind the wheel, and so the accident and fatality rates are naturally going to rise. They will decline again in the fall.
However, if you suffer injuries in an accident caused by a teen driver, or if you lose a loved one this summer, then you need to know exactly what legal options you have.
