North Carolina Car Accident Lawyers Blog

Our Carolina personal injury attorneys know that Fatal car accidents remain the No. 1 leading cause of death for American teens today. Ford Driving Skills for Life reports that nearly 5,000 teens die each year on U.S. roads. In a effort to decrease fatalities among teen motorists, Ford Motor Company teamed up with the Governors Highway Safety Association in 2003 to develop a mobile program targeting teen driver safety and education.

This year, Ford Motor Company has invested an additional $1 million in their free, curbside, driving-skills program. The goal is to reach out to 30 high schools in 15 states with on-site instruction geared toward helping teen drivers build better driving skills. In 2011, a high school in Raleigh/Durham, N.C. is among the schools that will host the Driving Skills for Life program, as authorities work to reduce the risk of Carolina car accidents among young people.

Research conducted by this partnership determined that in 60 percent of teen-driver related car accidents, four key areas played a consistent contributing role in traffic crashes involving this age group. The DSFL program offers hands-on events, lesson plans and online interactive programs and videos that focus on sharpening critical skills, including:

~ HAZARD RECOGNITION: where students learn to minimize distractions, scan for trouble, establish safety zones and practice approaching and turning left at intersections.

~ VEHICLE HANDLING: where students learn how braking, accelerating, turning and slowing down affect vehicle balance.

~ SPEED MANAGEMENT: where students learn how to recover from skids and how to determine safe driving speed for road, traffic and environmental conditions.

~ SPACE MANAGEMENT: where students learn how to avoid being rear-ended or involved in a head-on collision by determining safe traveling distance between vehicles.

The GHSA reports that the 16-year-old drivers are 10 times more likely to be involved in a traffic crash than drivers aged 30 to 59. That inexperience and immaturity often mean teen drivers are more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior (such as drinking and driving or speeding), which increases the risk that a teen driver will be involved in a serious or fatal car accident. Because of this, GHSA supports the implementation of Graduated Driver Licensing laws that requires drivers to gradually expand their driving privileges over time.

According to the GHSA, both North Carolina and South Carolina have enacted GDL laws that require younger drivers to complete learner and intermediate driver phases, including nighttime driving and passenger load restrictions, before becoming eligible for full driving privileges. Only South Carolina requires inexperienced drivers complete a schedule of supervised nighttime driving hours.