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Louisiana State Police, The Highway Safety Commission, and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are encouraging parents to educate their teens about safe driving habits, and how to make conscious decisions on the road.
Last year, 82 Louisiana drivers from the ages of 15-19 were involved in fatal crashes while 7,296 were involved in injury crashes.
State Police spokesperson Ross Brennan says alcohol consumption is just a piece of the problem
“Its not just alcohol its also marijuana use and drug use whether that’s salicylic and also prescription drugs. Basically if you feel different your going to drive differently so if you do plan to consume anything have a ride home,” said Brennan.
Driving with distractions can delay the response needed to notice or avoid an accident coming. Brennan says teens can lose focus on the road in many ways .
“I think just texting on the phone, but its also social media apps and playing with the music on the phone. Anything that takes your mind and eyes away from the road ways, and even stopping at the red light people think that a good time to use the phone but that’s not that’s also illegal,” said Brennan.
The odds of a teen driver engaging in risky behaviors triples when multiple passengers are in the same vehicle. Brennan says this week is important for parents to lay out the GDL guidelines.
“You should always have some type of ground rules laid out if you have a young driver. 16 years old drivers in Louisiana can only transport one person inside the vehicle who is not an immidiate family member under the age of 21 between 6pm and 5pm.”
For more information about National Teen Driver Safety, visit www.nhtsa.gov-saftey/teen-driving.
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