Approximately two-thirds of teen passenger deaths ages 13 to 19 occur when other teenagers are driving, according to betterteendriving.com, a State Farm Insurance website.
Getting a driver's license is one of the highlights of many people's teenage years. However, the Alabama Department of Public Health wants to make sure teens understand the risks of operating a vehicle.
The Alabama Child Death Review System, an ADPH organization, launched a new teen driving safety campaign in August.
"We review every nonmedical child death that occurs in Alabama," said Richard Burleson, director of the ACDRS. "The leading preventable cause of death is teen driving."
The launch of the new safety campaign includes a brochure titled "Surviving Teen Driving: A Survival Guide for New Teen Drivers and Their Parents," an informational website and a public education campaign.
The ACDRS campaign's main focus is educating teens and parents to know the laws and be aware of the facts.
"I just want to make parents aware of the risks and teenagers to just be aware," Burleson said.
The recently amended graduated driver's license law for Alabama states that Stage II drivers who are 16 years or older cannot operate any handheld communication equipment while driving.
It also allows teens to drive before 6 a.m. for hunting and fishing purposes with proper gear and licenses, in addition to the already standing allowance of driving to and from work, school-sponsored events or religious services.
More than 50 percent of new drivers depend on their parents to teach them, according to betterteendriving.com. Parental involvement is also one of the ADPH campaign's main selling points.
"The best prevention strategy is something that can't be mandated," Burleson said. "The single most effective strategy is having an adult--a parent or concerned adult--spend time behind the wheel with (new drivers)."
Burleson also advocates parent and teen driving contracts in the ACDRS campaign.
"The contract goes farther than just not drinking," Burleson said. "It also states that you won't engage in risky behaviors."
The contract formalizes the agreements parents and teens should make with one another, he said.
"Teens aren't bad drivers--just inexperienced," Burleson said.
City Manager Charles Duggan said the city has considered implementing a defensive driving course for teens.
Other cities in surrounding areas offer similar programs, but Auburn has a space issue, he said.
"The problem is that it would require a large parking lot with unobstructed lamp poles and other obstacles, but finding a location has been difficult," Duggan said.
Although Auburn doesn't have a teen driving course, it does help to prevent crashes in other ways.
Along the downtown strip and surrounding areas of campus, the speed limit doesn't exceed 35 mph. According to betterteendriving.com, speed limits of 45 mph or higher are one of the top three predictors for vehicle fatality.
Today's common teen driving scenario includes a cell phone with texting capabilities, CD players, iPods, GPS systems and loud passengers.
Keeping the distractions to a minimum would help decrease the risk of driving, Burleson said.
"Current data on crashes involving 16-year-old drivers shows that having multiple teenage passengers in the vehicle is twice as likely to cause a fatal crash as alcohol-impaired driving," according to betterteendriving.com.
Teens are almost 10 times more likely to be in a crash their first year behind the wheel than any other age.
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