Rules every parent should teach during National Teen Driver Safety Week

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), traffic crashes are a leading cause of death for teens 15 to 18 years old. In 2022, 811 teen drivers died in crashes, and a total of 2,514 teen drivers were involved in crashes where someone died. In 2023, Seattle teens were involved in 60 crashes and in Spokane, that number is 397. Some leading causes include talking or texting, applying makeup and eating or drinking.

October 20-26 is National Teen Driver Safety Week, as explained on the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s website, giving parents the perfect opportunity to educate their children.

National Teen Driver Safety Week: Rules of the road

NTSA laid out a few rules that parents can relay to their teen drivers.

The first is that it’s vital to always buckle up. Half of the passengers killed in cars driven by teen drivers in recent years weren’t buckled up in 2022.

Also, do not drink or do drugs when operating a motor vehicle. It is important to emphasize the fact that it’s illegal to drink before you’re 21 and that driving drunk or high is unacceptable at any age. In 2022, 22% of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking.

Another crucial rule is no distractions. That means no phones or texting while driving and not doing anything else — like eating, drinking or fixing hair and makeup — when you should fully focus on driving. About 10% of all teen drivers involved in fatal crashes in recent years were distracted at the time of the crash. Teens should activate the “do not disturb” feature on their phones to eliminate the distractions notifications cause.

No speeding is also an important rule to keep in mind. Almost one-third of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes were speeding in 2022. Parents should emphasize that teens must obey posted speed limits, including construction zones.

Lastly, limit extra passengers. Teen drivers are at a greater risk for a crash when they have others in their car. Passengers can serve as a distraction for inexperienced teen drivers and that’s why many states’ graduated driver licensing (GDL) restrictions prohibit any passengers in vehicles with teen drivers. GDL laws also set other limits on teen drivers for safety.

Don’t just set the rules — set the example

October has the highest rate of teen fatalities on the road, more than any other month, albeit by a narrow margin. There are five other months where the fatality rate is only 1% less than October. Another statistic is that 45% of all teen traffic fatalities in 2022 occurred between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. and 37% of teen traffic fatalities in 2022 occurred on weekends.

Parents play a pivotal role when it comes to leading by example. When a teen driver sees their parent obeying the rules of the road, they get the message. If their parent is breaking the rules, they may adopt those behaviors when they’re on the road.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest

Nate Connors is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Nate’s stories here. Follow Nate on X and email him here. Head here to follow KIRO Newsradio Traffic’s profile on X.