Get Teens Talking to Help Keep Them Safe on the Road

For those of you who read my blogs you know I have a special interest in keeping kids safe. I have three of my own, one who will be driving in a few years. Accordingly, I was glad to here about AAA Arizona’s teen driving public service announcement contest.

Teens interested in entering the contest must create a 60 second public service announcement, designed to build awareness on the biggest issues facing teen driving behaviors. Topics addressed can include: driving while impaired, distracted driving, aggressive driving, seat belt use, speeding and others.

The contest is only part of a larger campaign initiated by AAA. The campaign was created to encourage teens to talk about driving, therefore, making them aware of the issues and what they can do about them, and finding out how they feel about all of this.

AAA also launched an interactive social website in July. All of you who have teenage drivers should visit the site at www.aaateendriving.com. Make sure to introduce your teen driver to the site as well.

I applaud the AAA and any entity that strives to educate our children in hopes to keep them safer. Considering that 6,000 teens die and 300,000 are injured in the United States every year in car accidents, we can use all the help we can get.

According to police, echoed throughout the driver’s education community, the biggest problem seen in teen drivers is inattention. The only thing that can help with this is experience. Obviously, we can’t do anything to speed up time, but we can do lots of things to help teens get the experience they need behind the wheel. Driver’s education classes are so important----please make sure your teen enrolls and is active in a program. The more time behind the wheel the better, so having your teen get a driver’s permit, and allowing him/her to practice with you in the car before being allowed to get a license is priceless.

I would be happy to never again have to represent an auto accident victim who was injured or worse killed in a car accident that could have been prevented with a little preparation and education.

**If you have any questions or comments please visit my website at www.ZacharLaw.com or email me directly at CZachar@zacharlaw.com.