Causes of Crashes Vary Depending on Age

Teen Car Accidents - what you should know

Teens are more susceptible to crashes that are due to experience-based factors, for obvious reasons. While even excellent drivers can be involved in crashes due to bad weather, automobile defects, and road hazards, and adults of all ages can cause accidents due to carelessness, teens face some special circumstances that make them more likely to be in an auto accident and sustain or cause injury.
Rising Numbers
Alarmingly, the number of crashes in Wisconsin has gone up each year overall, with the number of accidents in Dane County rising from 9,558 accidents in 2011 to 11,825 accidents in 2016. Some of this rise can be attributed to an increase in countywide population as people move here, but of course, most of the increase isn't due to a growing population alone; not everyone moving to Wisconsin is an accident-prone driver.
Given that teens have one of the higher accident rates among age groups in Wisconsin, that means more teens are crashing and getting injured -- or dying.
Peer Pressure
One of the more notable issues with teen driving is peer pressure, especially with seatbelt use. While a little under 1/3 of teens driving alone who were in crashes in 2012 didn't wear seatbelts, the difference in numbers is stark when you look at drivers who had passengers. Teen drivers who were in accidents and who had other teens in the car wore seatbelts only 62 percent of the time.
Additional issues for teens were late-afternoon driving, especially on Fridays, and also snowy and slushy conditions. The snow-and-slush factor is a matter of experience; parents should give their teen drivers extra training in those conditions.
If your teen has been involved in a crash, at-fault or not, speaking with an attorney is advisable. The attorneys at Eisenberg Law Offices can help you and your teen navigate the court system and potential penalty phases so that your case is resolved satisfactorily.
This content was originally published at https://www.eisenberglaw.org/causes-crashes-vary-depending-age/.