Few Parents Aware Car Crashes Are Biggest Threat to Teens' Safety
A survey by the National Safety Council discovered parents tend to think drugs and alcohol are the biggest threats.
The National Safety Council announced that a survey it conducted showed 76 percent of parents are unaware that car crashes are the biggest threat to the safety of teenagers. The survey found that parents believe drugs and alcohol, bullying, or the Internet are the most significant safety threats. The findings have been release as part of National Teen Driver Safety Week, which runs Oct. 18-24.
"The biggest threat to teens' safety is sitting in the driveway," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "The statistics have shown this for years, yet too many parents still do not appreciate that the first year of driving is a particularly deadly time in a teen's life."
The five biggest issues for teen drivers are: impaired driving, driving at night, driving with young passengers, practice, and distracted driving.
Seventy-two percent of parents accurately attributed driving risks to a lack of experience or poor decision making, but 44 percent of parents said they do not supervise a teen's driving for the recommended amount of time during the permit stage.