Articles Posted in Injuries to Children & Minors

Seven schools have been named winners of the 2010 Operation Teen Safe Driving Program, a state initiative aimed at reducing the number of fatal Illinois car accidents involving teenagers.

While graduated driver’s licenses and other teen safety initiatives have reduced traffic fatalities in recent years, fatal traffic accidents involving teenagers in Illinois have increased slightly thus far this year. Through March 26, a total of 18 teenagers, ages 16 to 19, died in traffic accident, compared to 15 during the same period a year ago.

Fatal motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers ages 15 to 20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

About 1 in 7 fatal crashes nationwide involves a driver under the ages of 20. In 2008, 5,864 teens were among the 36,261 motorists who died in traffic accidents nationwide. In Illinois, 164 teens were killed in traffic accidents that year. Alabama, California, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas reported more teen deaths than did Illinois.

Illinois has been recognized for its proactive measures to improve teen safety, including the Graduated Driver Licensing Law, which became effective Jan. 1, 2008. The law gives teens additional supervision behind the wheel and requires that they earn their way from one stage to the next by avoiding traffic convictions.

“The improved graduated driver licensing (GDL) law that resulted from the recommendations of the Teen Driver Safety Task Force makes Illinois’ teen driver program one of the strongest in the nation and, more importantly, is saving lives,” said Secretary of State Jesse White. “Working together, we can save more lives and make Illinois roads safer for all of us.”

Winners of this year’s program are Oak Forest High School, Gardner South Wilmington High School, Farmington High School, Pekin High School, Oakland High School, Chester High School and Patoka High School.

The program encourages high school students to use their creativity and imagination in developing programs aimed at educating their peers on the dangers of unsafe driving.
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When it comes to Chicago pedestrian accidents, children are at high risk. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14. Every day in the United States, an average of 5 children under 14 are killed and more than 500 injured by a motor vehicle.

The Chicago child injury attorneys and the Chicago pedestrian accident lawyers at Abels & Annes urge parents to discuss traffic safety with their children early and often.

In 2007, a total of 1,670 children were killed and 200,000 were injured in Chicago car accidents. In many cases, the child is a pedestrian.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers excellent advice to parents and adults working with children to learn proper roadway and pedestrian safety.

Advice for parents and caregivers of elementary school children:
-Cross at the corner or at an intersection.
-Stop at the edge of parked cars, the curb, or other vehicles.
-Look left-right-left (left is most important because it is the traffic direction closest to you.)
-Continue looking left and right while crossing.
-Walk. Don’t run in the street.
-Watch for signs (engine sound, car doors, brake lights) that a car is about to move.
-Use both your eyes and ears at all time for safety.

Preventing backovers in driveways
-Ensure children are supervised at all times, especially when vehicles are present.
-Teach children not to play around vehicles.
-Always assume the presence of children and check carefully before backing.
-Do not allow children to ever play in the driveway.
-Teach children never to play with a vehicle or attempt to put it in gear.
-Never leave a vehicle running and unattended.
-Know where children are located and have them in view before moving a vehicle.
-Keep an eye to the rear and your window down as you back slowly out of a drive.
-Talk to neighborhood parents and urge them to follow safety guidelines.
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With teens hitting the streets for long holiday breaks over New Year’s, reviewing driver safety with your young driver is a good way to start the holiday.

The Chicago car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes encourage you to take a moment to discuss driver safety with your children to help them stay safe through the beginning of winter-driving season and the congested roads that will great us all this holiday season.

Statistics show teens are at increased risk of Chicago car accidents and drunk driving accidents in Illinois and across the nation this holiday season.

Illinois is a leader in educating teenagers about safe-driving habits. Parents and teenagers can find the state’s Teen Safe Driving Guide and a Parent and Teen Driving contract by clicking here.

Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 20. Nearly 1 in 5 licensed 16-year-olds is in a crash and the fatality rate for teenagers is up to 5 times higher that for drivers in their 30s, 40s and 50s, according to state statistics.

Lack of experience, greater risk taking and driving under the influence are factors associated with the higher traffic fatality rates for teenagers.

More than 300 young drivers ages 21 to 24 are involved in fatal crashes during the last half of December each year. One-third of the 1,710 deaths from 2002-2007 were the result of drunk driving accidents that claimed 649 lives, according the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In Illinois during the 2007 Christmas-New Year’s Holiday, 214 young drivers were killed and almost half –92–were impaired.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in a 2005 study that 1 in 4 teens who died in a car accident was legally drunk. Three out of 10 teens reported riding in a car within the last 30 days with a driver who had been drinking.

Lessons in the teen safe-driving guide include: starting and stopping, turning, backing up, parking, changing directions, establishing right-of-way, changing lanes, managing intersections, following other vehicles, defensive driving, assessing highway conditions and passing, handling adverse driving conditions, and other useful safety information and rules of the road.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also offers a comprehensive teen-driver safety program available by clicking here.
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