Saving our teen drivers from road mishaps

We’ve been seeing a lot of highway mishaps lately including an overspeeding bus which went over the skyway’s ramp and landed on the highway about 30 feet below. Road accidents are now the fourth leading cause of deaths in the Philippines based on statistics from the Department of Health. The trend is alarming and health officials warn that if the trend continues, road accidents could become the leading cause of deaths in the country by the year 2020.

As a cause of external injury, vehicular accident was the No. 1 cause last year, based on data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. Almost one out of three Filipinos brought to the emergency room for external injury is related to a road mishap.

The statistics become more alarming, also depressing, if we look at statistics involving teenage drivers. We don’t have local data, but in the United States motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for US teens, with more than one in three deaths in this age group.

According to the US report in 2009, eight teens aged 16 to 19 died every day from vehicular injuries. Comparing teen drivers aged 16 to 19 with older drivers, teens are four times more likely to crash. It is postulated that teens are more likely than older drivers “to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations.”

The report has also identified which of the teen drivers are more predisposed to road mishaps. These are:

Males: They’re almost two times at higher risk than female teens.

Teens driving with teen passengers: The more the teen passengers, the higher the risk.

Newly licensed teens: The risk is highest on the first year that teenagers are allowed to drive.

So before we hand over the car keys to our teenage children, we have to make sure they’re  properly guided. “There’s more at stake than a scraped knee from a playground game of hopscotch,” writes Glenn Orion, one of our editors for Vital Signs, a publication for doctors and health care professionals. “They (teen drivers) have to be reminded to prioritize safety and sensibility over style and swagger,” he adds.

He gives the following reminders to teenage drivers:

1. “Click it” or ticket. Forgetting the seatbelt is simply being reckless, not to mention that it can also get one a traffic violation ticket. Constant reminding from parents and older companions are important because teens have the lowest rate of seatbelt use, and the majority of teens involved in fatal crashes weren’t wearing this most basic and readily available car safety feature. Glenn also admonishes parents to set a good example. “It should be a default action when entering vehicles,” he writes.

2. Hang-up the cellphone.  Texting or talking on the phone combined with the inexperience of a teen driver is a recipe for disaster. If calls are inevitable, there are now mobile phones with ingenious mobile applications aimed at driving safely.

3. Limit passengers. “Don’t let your teen’s vehicle be the party bus,” Glenn says. He points out the data showing that the likelihood of accidents among teen drivers is directly proportional to how many friends are in the car.

4. Don’t drink and drive. Adults who drink and drive can be an accident magnet. Teens who do the same are even riskier. “Make sure your teen is comfortable calling home or taking a cab if they feel they can’t drive or if they are in a situation where a friend is driving drunk,” Glenn advises.

5. Avoid joyrides or driving at night. Another study shows that a fifth of teenagers’ vehicle-related fatalities occurred between 9 p.m. and midnight, and a fourth occurred between midnight and 6 a.m.

6. Turn down the music. Teens just love to listen to music, coming from souped-up sound systems installed in the car. What can be more distracting than that? “Make sure your teen never drives with headphones on and encourage them to turn down the radio volume, if not completely off, and focus on the road,” Glenn says.

7. Wear comfortable, functional clothing. “Especially in a tropical climate like ours, plenty of teens are walking around in flip flops, and while that’s fine for the beach, it’s not safe behind the wheel,” Glenn warns. He explains that slippers or other loose footwear can easily get caught in the brake or accelerator pedal. High heels worn by teen female drivers are equally risk-prone. “Have your teen wear an appropriate pair of shoes and save the fashion statement for later. Sneakers can be left in the car just in case,” Glenn advises.