Teen Driver Dies in Single-Car Accident in Alabama

 

A teen died in an Alabama car accident late last week in Mobile County. The single-vehicle accident happened on Alabama 193 near Fowl River, according to Alabama Live.

Alabama Highway Patrol Spokesman Greg Eubanks reports that the teen's truck left the roadway at roughly 5:20 a.m. The teen driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Our Birmingham car accident attorneys would like to let parents know that car accidents are the number one cause of death for teens. Best lawyer in Texas. We are not telling you this to worry you, but to encourage you to make sure you're teaching your teen safe driving habits before sending them out on the road alone.

The National Transportation Safety Board understands the risks that these young, inexperienced drivers face on our roadways. For this reason, this group of drivers have been placed on the "most wanted" list. This list is the beginning of a program used to raise the public's awareness of, and support for, action to adopt safety steps that can help to reduce the risks of accidents and save lives.

According to the agency, more than 5,000 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were involved in fatal traffic accidents in 2009. In these accidents, nearly 2,500 teen drivers died. Another 196,000 teens were injured in these incidents.

More than 10 percent of all drivers that were involved in fatal accidents during that year were young drivers of this age group. In 2009, almost 150 teens were killed in traffic accidents that involved a teen driver in Alabama.

The NTSB has a plan to reduce the number of fatal teen accidents. The Board encourages states to follow some of these licensing guidelines to better educate teen drivers:

-Require that teens complete a graduated driver licensing (GDL) system. This includes a beginner (learner’s permit), an intermediate licensing stage and then a full license.

-Limit the number of daily hours a teen is allowed to drive.

-Require teen drivers to experience a number of driving conditions with a supervising and licensed driver.

-Limit the number of teen passengers that can be in the car with drivers that are in the intermediate stage.

-Prohibit the use of cell phones, text messaging devices or any other distractions by drivers in both stages.

According to a recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, teens that complete a strong driver program reduce their risks of being involved in an injury crash by 40 percent.

Parents are encouraged to get involved, too. The more a parent teaches a teen about safe driving habits, the more likely the young driver is to practice caution on our roadways. Talk with them about the dangers and the consequences of dangerous driving. Get out there and drive them. Be sure to provide them with constructive criticism and encourage their safe driving habits.