Every year too many lives end from car crashes that could have been avoided with safer driving. While many live from terrible car accidents, they can face life-changing injuries including spinal cord injury, brain trauma, fractures, and more. In the unfortunate case that you are involved in an auto accident and injured, you will want an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side. Lawyers see cases every year where people driving recklessly hurt others.

Driving distracted can cause an accident in less than a blink. Often, accidents that could have been prevented are caused by young teen drivers. We hope to prevent these accidents with educating young drivers about some teen safe driving best practices.

Teen Safe Driving: 4 causes of driver accidents, and how they can be prevented

1.Emotional Driving

Teens who drive while angry are more likely to engage in road rage. Teens and young adults are prone to experience dramatic emotional changes. It is important that parents engage in a dialogue with their teens about the characteristics of road rage before they get behind the wheel. Counting to ten and pulling over instead of driving could actually prevent many accidents on the road.

2. Not Spotting Hazards

Teen drivers don’t have the same experience and instincts as older drivers. When a driver spots a hazard, there are only two seconds to react. Drivers with less experience may not be able to react to hazards as quickly. Some hazards include neighborhood children and pets, always drive slower in a neighborhood. Also always drive slower in rain or snow, as this greatly increases the chance of hazards.

3. Driving Without a License

Too many teen drivers get behind the wheel without proper licensing. Never let a friend or family member who is not licensed ‘practice’ driving on the road. They need to go through proper training and licensing. When riding with your teenager never use a cell phone or be distracted. Have your eyes on the roads if you were driving the vehicle.

4. Full Cars

Cars full of other passengers’ dramatically increase the chances of a wreck, due to distractions. Teen drivers also tend to try to impress each other by not wearing seatbelts, speeding, and rebelling against road rules. Some states require 16-year-olds can only have one passenger in their car. Know your areas laws, and make sure your children are following them.

We see far too many accidents each year that could have been easily prevented. Parents have a moral—and legal—responsibility over what their teens do, including when they are driving. By addressing the common and not-so-common causes of young driver crashes, we can work together to lower the amount of accidents