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iihs teen driver statistics | Northern California Personal Injury Blog

Mistakes to Avoid Behind the Wheel

By Kelly Balamuth on November 14, 2011

car crashStatistics by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) show that teenagers are four times more prone to vehicle accidents than their older contemporaries, illustrating the need for teen driver safety. The reasons for that may range from simple lack of experience to distracted tendencies. That’s why Gary Tsifrin from Oakland, California’s DriversEd.com supplied the Chicago Tribune with a list of some of the more regular mistakes novice drivers make that lead to crashes. These pitfalls are certainly relevant to drivers of all ages, and should be noted and avoided accordingly.

Distracted Driving: The ever increasing stream of electronic distractions, from cell phones to text messages to GPS devices, barrage drivers’ attention. Anything that takes a driver’s attention away from the road can pose a deadly distraction (this includes passengers, pets, and food).

High Risk Behavior: Abrupt lane changes, failure to yield, and speeding through changing signals all fall under this category, and can cause serious accidents.

Speeding: This is an obvious danger, but not obvious enough to deter drivers from doing it. The faster you drive, the less time you’ll have to react to a problem, and the more devastating an accident may be.

Packing Cars: For teens, more passengers equates to risky and dangerous behavior by drivers, according to studies by the National Institute For Highway Safety (NIH), Johns Hopkins, and the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (IIHS).

Failure to Stop: An average car requires from 120 to 140 feet to fully stop. Sport utility vehicles need an additional 5 to 10 feet. It’s essential to leave ample following room for the vehicle in front of you to stop.

Other common driver mistakes noted were neglecting to use seat belts, driving impaired or tired, and failing to keep up with car safety maintenance. If you’ve been injured in an accident you think was caused by another driver in Northern California, contact the Northern California car accident attorneys with Balamuth Harrington at 1(888) 254-1234.

Attorney Kelly Balamuth was profiled in the
September 2013 Issue of Plaintiff Magazine.

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