Spencer R's List: wreckless

• Laws against reckless driving, or "reckless operation of a motor vehicle," like laws against speeding or drunk driving (DUI or DWI), make such actions a crime and act to deter dangerous driving. Reckless driving differs because it involves a "willful" or "wanton" disregard for the safety of others.

    

  Generally, reckless driving is a misdemeanor crime. This means that constitutional rules apply to prosecutions for reckless driving. The prosecution must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Miranda rules apply, and police officers must inform you of your right to remain silent before you start answering questions.

     

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds. Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens. Teens lack of experience affects their recognition of and response to hazardous situations and results in dangerous practices such as speeding and tailgating.
• Teens also have a greater chance of getting involved in an accident if other teens are present in the vehicle.
  
• Crash Facts: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 3,174 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2007, down 9.1 percent from 3,490 in 2006 and down 5.5 percent from 3,358 in 1997. An additional 252,000 young drivers were injured in 2007.
• Thirty-one percent of drivers age 15 to 20 who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2007 had been drinking some amount of alcohol; 26 percent were alcohol-impaired, which is defined by a blood alcohol content of 0.08 grams per deciliter or higher.
  
• A 2008 study conducted by former Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) chief scientist Allan Williams found that raising the age at which drivers are licensed would save lives. The study, highlighted in a September 2008 report by the IIHS, focused on driving age and rules in different countries. The study found that raising the driving age would substantially reduce crashes involving teenage drivers in the United States, where most states permit driving at about age 16. Ten states and the District of Columbia start licensing at around 16 ½, 33 at 16 and six between 14 ½ and 15 ½. New Jersey is the only state in which drivers have to be 17 to get a license.
  
• The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm released a study in 2007 that found that children are safer when riding in a vehicle with a teen driver who is their sibling rather than a teen driver who is not related. Earlier research found that children driven by teens are twice as likely to sustain crash injuries, which prompted legislators in many states to enact passenger restriction laws. The new study showed that children’s risk of crash injury when the teen driver is a sibling is 40 percent lower. Some states allow teen drivers to have only family members as passengers.

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• Your  teen driver  is more likely to die in a car accident than to  die of homicide, suicide, illness, or any other safety hazard. Five to six  thousand teen drivers die in automobile accidents every year in the United  States. Tragically, many of these fatal crashes are due to preventable driving  errors.
• Teen drivers engage in reckless behavior because  they are less able to perceive risk. They have difficulty identifying hazards  that could lead to a crash and often overestimate their ability to handle the  hazards they do identify. Teen drivers also tend to bring along passengers that  distract them from driving and encourage them to participate in reckless  speeding, racing, or "driving games."

•   Be sure to address the following   teen driving issues:

   

   

   
  • Whether or not your teen may give rides   to friends
   
  • How late your teen is allowed to drive
   
  • Expectations about music, eating, and   cell phones while driving
   
  • What your teen should do if she is away   from home but unable to drive due to alcohol or   tiredness
   
  • The consequences for reckless driving   or failing to follow the rules
• If you continue to be concerned   about your teen's driving, you may want to   participate in a monitoring program. Paid services   such as   Report My Teen provide bumper stickers with a call-in number.  If   anyone notices your teen driving dangerously, they   can call the provided number and leave a message   about the incident. After listening to the messages,   you can share your concern with your teen and take   additional steps to prevent reckless driving.

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• For more than two decades, car crashes have been the number one killer of teens. NHTSA research shows that teen drivers are involved in more than five times as many fatal crashes as adults. Young drivers are more likely to speed, run red lights, make illegal turns, and die in an SUV rollover.