As a parent, when your teen gets their drivers license it can bring about a new level of concern for their safety. The best way to ease your own worries is to educate your child about the dangers that come along with driving a car. You can go a long way toward educating your child and making them more aware by sharing with them a few of the more alarming statistics about car accidents and driving. 

1. More accidents occur with teen drivers at night. 

There is a good reason why teen drivers are restricted from driving at all hours of the night in some states. In 2012, fatal crashes involving teenagers happened most often between nine at night and midnight. Additionally, more fatal accidents occurred on weekends than through the week. Therefore, your teen should be taught to take extra caution when they are driving late at night or during the weekend when risk of an accident could be higher. 

2. Distracted driving is a big deal with teen drivers. 

Teen drivers are more prone to driving while distracted and being involved in a crash. Even though cell phone usage accounts for a large portion of the problem, distracted driving can also be related to:

• other passengers in the vehicle
• adjusting the radio
• eating or drinking 

About six out of every ten moderate-to-severe crashes by teens were caused by distracted driving in a study performed in 2015. These includes accidents where the car veered off of the road or hit another vehicle. Teach your new driver about the dangers of not paying careful attention while they drive. Talk to them about cell phone usage in the car and how many passengers they should have with them and what their options are if someone in the car gets unruly. It is much better to tell someone they cannot have a ride, wait until later to read a text, or adjust the radio at a stop light than to end up in an accident 

3. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading case of death for teenagers. 

In the year 2013, 2,163 teen drivers were killed in car accidents on US highways, which averages out to be six teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 every single day. Additionally, 243,243 were treated in an emergency room for injuries after a crash. A teen needs to know how quickly things can go awry if they are not careful drivers and how easy it is to get into an accident that can be devastating. 

In the unfortunate case of an accident, contact a car accident attorney like Monohan & Blankenship or others.