Distractions Pose a Huge Threat to Teen Drivers

Car accidents remain the #1 killer of teens in the United States and studies have shown that teens that drive with other teens in the car heighten the risk of a crash.

A survey was conducted with 5000 high school students. This is the information they found:

90% of teens said friends in car distracted the driver

89% of teens said that friends used cell phones while they drove

79% of teens said passengers and/or the driver danced and sang in the vehicle

20% of 9th - 11th graders have been involved in at least one car crash within the last year


Drunk driving campaigns have been effective in teens as most teen crashes are not alcohol related. Now we all need to drive home the fact that distraction is bigger than anything.

Cost of Hit & Run

Your teen has just gotten in their first accident backing up in a parking lot. Quickly they look around to see if anyone else had witnessed the accident and speed away.

They've committed a hit and run.

Little did they know, security cameras have caught the whole thing on tape and now they'll pay the price.

In Washington State, the fine is $5000 and/or a year in jail plus restitution (payment to the victim of the crime for bodily injuries and/or damages) and court costs and fines.

In addition, depending on the circumstances, there could be prison time, community service, court costs, attorney fees...

In all, you and your teen could be looking at thousands and thousands of dollars.

Kids Club Carnival CANCELED

Unfortunately, we've had to cancel the Kids Club Carnival this year. We are slated to do this next year with even more fun and games than we originally planned.

Donations for Northwest Harvest are still encouraged (monetary and non-perishable food items) at all 6 of our locations. You can find our locations and directions by going to our site: www.sav-on.com.

Teen Driver Kills Gentleman, Charged with Manslaughter

16-year-old Brooklyn, New York resident Dervish Nivokazi, was charged recently with manslaughter after he killed 65-year-old Zak Stanislaw who was waiting at a bus stop.

Police say that Nivokazi was speeding in a 2005 Mazda, hit a Toyota, and then slammed into Stanislaw who was pronounced dead minutes after the 9:20pm crash.

Nivokazi had only a junior license (similar to Washington's intermediate license) which prohibits driving after 9pm. He was treated for minor injuries at Lutheran Hospital. The driver of the Toyota was not injured.

According to Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives, only 29 drivers in New York State have been charged with negligent homicide from 1994 to 2008 despite thousands of pedestrians and bicyclists that have been killed.

Teen Crashes Cost $34 Billion Per Year

A study released by the American Auto Association (AAA) estimates that crashes involving drivers 15-17 years of age accounted for over $34 billion in 2006 alone.

The study stated that these teen drivers were involved in nearly a million crashes in 2006, injuring 406,427 people and killing 2,541. Fatality costs were estimated to cost $3.841 million in lost wages, lawsuits, emergency response crew wages, and medical expenses while injury accidents post an average of $50,512 per incident.

Washington State requires liability limits of at least $25,000/$50,000 for bodily injury and $10,000 for property damage. If you cause an accident that exceeds these limits you must pay the difference out of pocket.

With a newly licensed teen driver, we strongly suggest raising your limits...and maybe consider an umbrella policy which provides extra coverage to your home and auto in a single limit of insurance; usually $1 million or $2 million is common but some companies offer a limit of $5 million or more. Check back next week for more information on umbrella policies!


Thank you to ohmygov.com

New York Tightens Teen Driving Laws

Albany, New York is in the process of enacting new teen driving laws to bring down teen driver and passenger fatalities.

Currently, teens are able to get their license within the first 6 months of their permit with only 20 hours required of parent observation. The new bill raises that to 6 months of permit driving until even being able to schedule the road test and 50 hours or observed driving with 15 of those being night driving.

The bill would ban the use of electronic devices, handheld or other, and reduce the number of non-family drivers to one until age 21.

The bill also closes loopholes where teens were able to plea-bargain driving offenses to reduce them to non-moving violations, and thus avoiding points being added to their driving record. The only drawback to this is many parents pay for the driver's insurance so maybe having some court appointed volunteer work would actually be more appropriate.

One place the bill may falter, however, is drivers will be able to get their full license at age 17 whereas the federal bill restricts a full license until age 18.

36% of teen deaths are caused by motor vehicle accidents, and teen drivers are twice as likely to die in crashes as are adult drivers, studies show.


Thank you to Buffalo News.

Teen Crashes: Highest on Saturday and Sunday Night

It's important to educate yourself-- as a parent and a teen driver. Below are 2 tables of information. Look them over carefully and you'll notice 2 things. Crash rates for teen drivers are most risky on Saturday and Sunday nights. Does this come as a surprise to you? Maybe not. But the awareness alone is imporant.

Share this with your teen driver. Do they notice a difference in the way they drive on weekends? Night driving vs. day driving, in general? Are they driving friends? Are they excited to go to a party or event? What is it about night and weekend driving for teens?

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by day of week, 2007
Day of Week	Deaths	%
Sunday	953	19
Monday	568	12
Tuesday	531	11
Wednesday	566	11
Thursday	571	12
Friday	795	16
Saturday	962	20
Total*	4946	100

*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by time of day, 2007
Time of Day	Deaths	%
Midnight-3am	747	15
3am-6am	470	10
6am-9am	393	8
9am-noon	301	6
Noon-3pm	498	10
3pm-6pm	822	17
6pm-9pm	776	16
9pm-midnight	900	18
Total*	4,946	100

*Total includes other and/or unknowns