Kids at Risk in Cars Even Before They Drive
3/10/08
Study Says High Mortality Rates Start at Age 12
If you’ve ever thought about locking your kids up when they turn 16 and never letting them out of the house for fear of them dying or being maimed in an automobile accident, you’ll be happy to hear that a recent study indicates you might want to lock them up a lot sooner. Say, before they turn 12.
Here at Mother Proof, we’ve known for a while that the No. 1 killer of people ages 15-24 is automobile accidents. Now, a new study by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance indicates that the higher risk of auto-accident fatality actually begins around the age of 12. It seems our precious and ever-more-precocious tweens are riding in cars with teen drivers and somehow have unlearned the seat belt habit we’ve imbedded in their brains since birth. As a parent and a seat belt freak, I am somewhat shocked at the idea that in a matter of just a few years kids go from automatically putting on their seat belts when they get into the car to not buckling at all when riding with their teenage friends.
In light of this study, researchers have developed a few common-sense tips for parents to keep in mind when their kids ride in cars with other kids. They recommend that you:
1. Insist on seat belts. All occupants should buckle up on every trip, every time.
2. Set a good example. Don’t drink and drive. Avoid distractions like cell phones. Obey the speed limit.
3. Set rules about safe passenger behaviors. Discuss what’s helpful or distracting to a driver.
4. Monitor your child’s travel. Know where he or she is going, with whom, how they are getting there and when they will be home.
5. Know and trust the driver. It’s not safe for your child to ride with a teen who has less than a year of driving experience.
One note on that last tip: A previous CHOP study released in 2007 indicated that when the teen driver is a sibling, a child’s risk of injury is 40 percent lower than it would be if he or she were riding with an unrelated teen. This is like a giant ray of sunshine to me; how great is it that, no matter how contentious sibling rivalry might be, teenagers seem to rise above themselves to keep their brothers and sisters safe when they’re driving? Now if we could just help them do that for themselves and their friends, maybe we could turn these statistics around.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is a great source of information regarding how to keep teenage drivers and their young passengers safe. There’s also a series of videos based on the research at http://mediaseed.tv/story.aspx?story=34691.
I know I’ll be talking to all of my children as my teenager drives us home from school this afternoon about being safe passengers in a car. How about you?
Comments
I think one of the best ways to learn road safety is to
get in the car at www.teenlivedrive.com
You will enjoy the ride and retain the information.
Posted by: Paul Greenway | Mar 11, 2008 8:17:59 PM
Once again, my son taught me that communication is probably the best tool a parent can have. My son came home from the movies with some friends and told me that his friend's mom was TEXTING the entire time that she was driving!!! Needless to say, she will never be driving my son around again ~ and she knows why. Does that make me a mean mom or just a concerned one? I am willing to be both.
Posted by: Shawna | Mar 17, 2008 11:40:14 PM
Good job Shawna! Your not mean, I would do the same thing! Check out this previous article here at Mother Proof http://www.motherproof.com/2007/10/put-down-your-c.html
Posted by: Emily | Mar 19, 2008 8:00:17 AM
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I tell my passengers that the car starts moving once everyone is buckled up. If they don't like it, they can get a ride with someone else.
In some states, the driver is responsible for the other passengers in the car (in terms of seatbelts, littering, etc.) until the passengers reach a certain age. Makes for a good side point in this argument.
More importantly, it can save your life and it only takes a second or two. Why not? Death and injuries are not cool.
Indeed, the risk of an accident increases with each additional teenage passenger in the car, it seems.
Not distracting the driver or attempting to have serious conversations are some ways to be a good passenger.
Telling kids to speak up if the driver is not operating the vehicle in a safe manner is a very wise move, as well. The excuse of car sickness can work wonders to slow down a speeding driver.
Posted by: t driver | Mar 11, 2008 12:23:26 AM