Deadly crashes involving young drivers see 11% rise since 2015

This week is recognized as National Teen Driver Safety Week. It raises awareness for the leading cause of death for teens age 15 to 18. 22 News reporter Lexi White joins us live in Chicopee and Lexi, you heard from experts on this. AAA says teens should be aware of how fast they're going. They should limit distractions in the car and they should always, always, always be sober when getting behind the wheel. This helps not just to ensure the safety of the driver themselves, but also their passengers. and anyone else on the road. This is all about protecting people on our roads, shifting gears to be safe behind the wheel. It's Teen Driver Safety Week and AAA is sounding the alarm for families with young drivers. They're urging parents, guardians and caregivers to have a conversation with their young drivers, encouraging safe habits when behind the wheel to avoid serious accidents. We take this time to look at what's behind the crashes. what's causing most crashes that teens are involved in so that we can zero in on some of those behaviors. A good amount of teen driving discussion revolves around cell phone use. And while that's an important issue, AAA says 93% of fatal crashes involving teen drivers did not report distractions. And instead, some of the main common factors are three or more passengers, nighttime hours, not wearing seatbelts, impairment, and the biggest one is speeding. AAA says crashes involving young drivers is eight times as likely as those over the age of 21, with speeding teens being four times as likely to be involved in a fatal accident. Now speeding plus other factors increases the risk of death even more. Speeding at night and speeding with three or more passengers in the car make the chances of a fatal crash 13 times greater. Drivers speeding while being under the influence of alcohol or drugs are 35 times more likely to be involved in a deadly accident. Some of these statistics can be really sobering and they're worth sharing just to drive home why safe driving is so important, why junior operator laws are so important. So AAA is reminding teen drivers to watch their speed limit, reduce distractions like passengers or loud music, refrain from driving late at night, wear a seat belt, and only drive when sober. AAA is asking parents to remind their young drivers of these factors, not just to keep them safe, but everyone traveling in a vehicle. Working for you live in Chicopee, Lexi White, 22 News.