Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog
If you are the parent of a teenager with a license, or who has friends with a license, you should be aware of the high risks of teen collisions during the summer months. More than 5,000 people died in collisions during June, July, and August involving teen drivers between 2010 and 2014, according to CNN. 
Many of the accidents occur as a result of certain specific behaviors teens tend to do in the summer. Parents should be aware of the highest-risk activities teen drivers tend to do in the car and should make rules to prevent young people from causing accidents or putting themselves at risk of becoming a victim of an accident in a friend’s car.
If a teen does become involved in a collision as a passenger, the young victim can pursue a claim for compensation against the driver, even if the driver is the passenger’s friend.
A Boston car accident lawyer can help victims and their families to make a claim. No crash victim should hesitate in making a case for compensation because they don’t want their friend to be stuck with covering losses. Teens are required by law to have auto insurance and it is the auto insurance that will pay the damages for the teen driver.
Rules Parents Should Make to Prevent Teen Car Accidents
There are a few key rules parents should make to ensure their teens are not creating an unnecessary accident risk for themselves or others on the road. Examples include the following:
- Prohibit teens from texting or using electronic devices while driving. Almost 60 percent of collisions involving teen drivers, according to CNN’s report on an AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Study.
- Don’t let teens drive with passengers or ride in a car with too many young people. In Massachusetts, teens receive a Junior Operator’s License, which comes with restrictions. One restriction prohibits a young driver from traveling with passengers under age 18 within the first six months of having a license, unless accompanied by an experienced driver over age 21. Passengers in a car with a teen driver have been described as “one of the most important risks for teens, even more so than things like texting,” by the vice president of strategic initiatives for the National Safety Council. Passengers have been found to be more distracting than cell phones and to cause a 44 percent increase in the risk of a teen driver having a fatal crash.
- Be careful about allowing teens to drive at night. Young people with a junior license are restricted by law from driving late. However, parents may want to make a rule prohibiting teens from driving themselves or with friends one it starts to get dark. “I think too many parents think of night driving as a social curfew. ‘Well, I’ll let my kid stay out until 11 p.m., so he’s fine,’ ” the NSC vice president said. “It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the risk of driving after dark.”
If parents make and enforce rules, this can reduce the chances of a teen becoming involved in an auto accident which takes his or her own life or which causes the death of others on the road.
If you are injured in an accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Parents, beware: These are the 100 deadliest days for teens, July 29, 2017, By Kelly Wallace, CNN
More Blog Entries:
Report: Fall River Teen Killed in Car Crash on Way to Prom, June 26, 2016, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog