As a New York motorist, you may find that navigating the state’s roadways is often easier during the summer months when you do not need to contend with ice, snow and similar highway hazards. Regrettably, though, summer brings with it its own driving risks. Some of those risks involve sharing the road with the influx of teenage drivers who take to the roads once school lets out.
The time period in which teenagers are most likely to be out on the roads, between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year, is such a dangerous time to drive that AAA calls it summer’s “100 Deadliest Days.”
Statistics surrounding summer’s 100 Deadliest Days
How perilous is it to be a driver or passenger during summer’s 100 Deadliest Days in comparison with the rest of the year? Research shows that, in 2016, 10 people traveling the nation’s roads died daily within the 100 Deadliest Days-period. This figure demonstrates a 14% increase over road deaths that took place throughout the rest of the year, with about 1,050 people dying in total on the nation’s roadways during that span.
Dangerous driving behaviors
While driver inexperience is a frequent factor in car wrecks involving teenage drivers, there are often other factors at play in teen driver-involved car crashes and road fatalities. For example, almost 30% of all road deaths stemming from incidents with teenage drivers in 2016 also involved speed.
Driving at night is also a struggle for many teenagers. Teen drivers are, typically, more likely to be out on the roads after dark during summer’s 100 Deadliest Days than they are throughout the rest of the year. During this approximately three-month span, the number of nighttime car crashes involving teen drivers rises 22% in comparison with the remainder of the year.
As a New York motorist, make sure to exercise extreme caution when navigating the state’s roadways during the summer. Do not let your guard down simply because you do not have to contend with certain seasonal factors for some time yet.