In a report by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which reviewed data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, fatal accidents involving 16 and 17 year old drivers increased 11% for the first six months of 2011. This trend, if determined to be the same for the second half of the year, would end an 8 year period of decline in deaths of teen drivers.
Total deaths of 16 and 17 year old drivers during the first half of 2011 increased from 190 in 2010 to 211 in 2011. More specifically, there was an increase in 16 year old fatalities from 80 to 93, and an increase in 17 year old deaths from 110 to 118. There were increases in 23 states, 19 states had reductions in deaths, and 8 states along with the District of Columbia did not have a change in the first six months of 2010 and 2011. The states with the biggest increases in fatalities were Florida, Texas and North Carolina.
The increase in teen deaths is in contrast with data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has released an estimate that total motor vehicle deaths in the first half of 2011 decreased approximately 0.9%.
The author of the GHSA study, Dr. Allan Williams, has attributed the teen driver fatality increases to a leveling off of the benefit of Graduated Driver Licensing Laws, now that these laws have been in effect for several years. Additionally, Dr. Williams points to an improving economy as another factor to the statistics, with more teen drivers on the road. The GHSA suggests ways to combat this disturbing trend, which include improvements in driver education, parental involvement in establishing safe driving habits for their children, and strengthening traffic regulations. One concrete and absolute measure is to absolutely prohibit the use of any hand held cell phone or electronic device while driving, which is already illegal in the State of New York.
For example, texting while driving is now a primary traffic infraction in New York State (meaning that the investigating police officer does not need to find another violation such as speeding or following too closely to issue a texting while driving ticket). Texting while driving now leads to 3 points on the driver’s license, and fines with surcharge of approximately $235.00.
Traffic deaths will generally rise in the second half of the year, due to summer driving, vacations, and holidays known for higher accident levels including July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Contact the Westchester County Car Accident Attorneys online or toll free if you or a loved one is seriously injured in a car crash, bus accident, motorcycle accident or in a pedestrian knockdown for a free initial consultation to discuss your case in detail with an experienced, aggressive trial lawyer.