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Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What Parents of Teens Need To Know About the ‘100 Deadliest Days of Summer'
Being a parent means learning to live with part of your heart outside your body. It's hard enough when they are young enough to run out in the street or get lost in the grocery store. But watching them get behind the wheel of a car and drive away as teenagers brings another level of worry. Teen driving is even scarier when school is out in the summertime, which is why it's been dubbed as the '100 Deadliest Days of Summer.' AAA calls the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day (the unofficial start and end of the summer) the '100 Deadliest Days of Summer' due to the big increase in deadly crashes by teen drivers. More from SheKnows The Viral 'Senior Assassin' Game Comes With Some Risks: Here's What Parents Need To Know The National Road Safety Foundation says that teens are 20% more likely to be involved in a fatal crash during the 100 Deadliest Days than they are during the rest of the year. The organization recommends talking to your teens about distracted driving (which they say accounts for up to 60% of teen crashes) and modeling good behavior yourself. 'Summer is a more dangerous time for teen drivers because of multiple factors,' Dr. Mandy Neeble Diamond, Ph.D., clinical forensic psychologist, senior clinical advisor at SOBRsafe, and mom of two, tells SheKnows. 'These include increased driving time because teens aren't in school during the day. This also means more social gatherings, more passengers since teens are usually with their friends and with more passengers comes more distractions.' She adds that increased traffic also plays a factor in more accidents. 'Parents need to prepare their teen for the responsibility of driving and create as many safeguards as they can,' Dr. Diamond continues. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among teens ages 16-19 than any other age group. (Yes, this includes forgetful grandparents with bad eyesight.) Seriously, though, car crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens — with approximately 3,048 teens ages 13-19 killed in the U.S. in car crashes in 2023 alone, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Newly licensed teens, males, and teens driving with other teens or young adult passengers are at even higher risk for a motor vehicle accident, according to the CDC. This is usually due to inexperience, not wearing a seat belt, speeding, driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, and driving while distracted. Zutobi, a driver's education app, released a Teen Driver's Report last year that found 3,082 people were killed in crashes involving teen drivers (ages 15-20) in 2022 (the most recent year data is available). It's heartbreaking. 'When school's out, teens are on the road more often,' Lucas Waldenbäck, co-founder of Zutobi, tells SheKnows. 'They're driving to part-time jobs, social events, road trips — usually with friends in the car and often late at night. Without the structure of a school year, they also drive more freely and sometimes less cautiously. And because they're still gaining experience, all that added time behind the wheel comes with more risk.' A recent study by iSharing looked at teen driver fatalities, fatal crashes involving young drivers ages 15-20, and road quality across U.S. states. They found that New Hampshire ranks first for teen driver safety, with the lowest fatality rate per 10k licensed young drivers and minimal fatal crashes. Rhode Island and West Virginia (ranked #3 and #4, respectively) had varying road quality that impacted teen driver safety, despite their overall safety rating. And New Jersey, ranked #2 for safety, still had over 120 teen driver fatalities annually. 'States that prioritize teen driver safety typically share a focus on both education and road infrastructure,' a spokesperson from iSharing said in a statement. 'It's clear that a well-rounded approach, which includes effective driver education, better road conditions, and policies to reduce impaired driving, is essential to minimizing teen accidents. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, addressing these key areas consistently can help create safer driving environments for young people.' USAA conducted data from their SafePilot telematics app, which tracks everything from harsh braking to phone distractions, and found these states to have the highest distraction rates for teen drivers, per a May 2025 press release: Mississippi: 18.1% Louisiana: 15.6% South Dakota: 14.5% Iowa: 14.2% Alabama: 13.8% On the other hand, these states had the lowest distraction rates for teen drivers: Oregon: 9.0% Washington: 9.5% Connecticut: 9.6% Rhode Island: 9.6% Hawaii: 9.7% According to a survey conducted by USAA in 2024, the company's SafePilot app has effectively reduced poor driving habits in teens through real-time feedback and increased awareness. According to the survey, 87% of parents felt their child's driving improved since using the app, as teens were more observant of speed limits, less distracted by their phones, and had more awareness of other drivers. Inexperienced drivers are more dangerous on the road. A new study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) published in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that there is 'statistically significant evidence' that increased driving practice for teen drivers can reduce the number of crashes and close calls. The study was done by analyzing in-car monitors over 22 months between 2011-2014 and found that those who practiced had 30% fewer accidents. 'Teens that practice driving, especially in a variety of environments, throughout their learner's permit stage help reduce their crash risk and improve safety outcomes once they are out driving on their own,' Charlie Klauer, research scientist at VTTI and lead author of the study, said in a statement. Additionally findings showed that teens who shared a family car had fewer risky driving behaviors than those with their own vehicles; teens who had more supervised driving in diverse conditions experienced fewer crashes when they began driving independently; and in Virginia, many of the teens didn't meet the required 45 hours of driving time during their permit phase. 'Open communication is key,' Dr. Diamond says. 'Teens don't want to feel that they are being preached to and many times disregard what their parents say when they feel it's just more rules, or their parents are just trying to scare them.' She recommends having 'short, to the point, direct conversations.' This might look like showing them news articles of teens who have been in accidents to express your concerns, giving them clear expectations of how you expect them to drive, and relaying the consequences that you'll implement if they aren't safe. 'Tell your teen that they have to not just drive for themselves but for everyone else on the road as well,' Dr. Diamond explains. Emphasize the importance of remaining alert and avoiding distractions. 'This includes looking at their phone, changing their music, and/or reaching for something out of their bag,' she continues. 'Remind them to always wear their seatbelt, don't follow other cars too closely, don't speed, and always be aware of their surroundings.' Remind your teen that there are legal consequences to reckless driving as well. 'Also, I think it's so important to tell your kids that no matter what, they are to never drink and drive,' she adds. 'Not even one sip. And if they do, to know they can always call you, and you will go get them no questions asked.' Utilize technology to help keep your teens safe this summer. Waldenbäck suggests using the Zutobi app that turns learning how to drive into a game. 'If your teen is more visual or tech-minded, tools like consequence simulations in the Zutobi app can really help,' he says. 'They show what happens when drivers make poor choices; a great way to teach without lecturing.' Dr. Diamond recommends using the Life360 app with your kids, which tracks their location at all times. 'It shows exactly where your teen is, how fast they drive, any reckless braking, accelerated starts, and what time they leave and arrive at locations. I use it with my twins, and it's amazing.' She also suggests getting the SOBRsure bracelet, which gives parents 100% certainty that their teen has had nothing to drink before they drive. 'Most teens experiment with drinking and during the summer there are more social gatherings, more parties, and more alcohol use,' she says, adding that the bracelet 'provides a peace of mind and security that all teens and their parents need.' 'I believe it's better to be safe than sorry,' Dr. Diamond adds. And when it comes to teen driving during the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer, you can never be too safe!Best of SheKnows Michelle Obama's Best Mom Quotes — Because We Could All Use a Dose of Her Wisdom These Art Deco Girl Names Embody the Perfect Blend of Modern Elegance & Vintage Glam There's Something So Beautiful About the Bond Between Brothers
The South African
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- The South African
South Africa's drivers ranked WORST in the world
South Africa has been ranked the most dangerous country for drivers for the second consecutive year, according to a global report by driver education platform Zutobi. Out of 53 countries assessed, South Africa placed last , raising serious concerns among transport authorities and road safety experts. The annual study evaluated nations on various safety indicators including road fatality rates, seatbelt usage, highway speed limits, and legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels. Norway secured the top spot as the safest driving country, followed by Iceland and Japan. South Africa's overall safety score dropped to a concerning 2.88 out of 10, reflecting stagnation – or even regression – in efforts to curb road deaths. Alarmingly, the country reported the highest rate of alcohol-related road fatalities in the world, with 57.5% of deaths linked to alcohol consumption, despite having a BAC limit of 0.05%. Seatbelt compliance is another area of concern, with only 31% of South Africans reportedly wearing seatbelts in the front seat. This stands in stark contrast to countries like France, where usage is nearly universal at 99.4%. Additional risk factors include the country's national highway speed limit of 120km/h – high by global standards – and poor compliance with road laws, particularly among informal taxi drivers. Corruption within metro police forces, failing infrastructure, and lack of reliable public transport also continue to undermine road safety. Experts point to the need for stronger enforcement, improved driver education, and urgent investment in infrastructure. Currently, poorly maintained roads, limited signage, and inadequate lighting contribute to a dangerous driving environment, particularly in rural areas. While countries like Norway have achieved success through strict law enforcement, advanced infrastructure, and widespread public awareness campaigns, South Africa faces a crisis of confidence in both its road system and those tasked with maintaining it. Authorities are being urged to take immediate, coordinated action to reverse the trend and protect the lives of road users. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Daily Maverick
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Maverick
After the Bell: Road safety and the limits of legislation — why enforcement and culture matter
It's something of a curiosity why SA, which has very strict rules on drunk driving, seat belts and speeding, doesn't seem to be making progress in making the roads safer. The biggest problem with driving in South Africa is that local drivers tend to regard traffic rules as suggestions rather than laws. In a lot of places in SA, particularly taxi drivers don't even rise to that level of mental attitude, and you can see that by the way taxi drivers don't even slow down for red robots late at night. The result is a huge number of deaths on the road. South Africa's road fatality rate is one of the worst in the world, at about 26 per 100,000, compared with Brazil at 15.6 and the world average of 17. The real killer weekend is, of course, Easter, although this year the death rate declined substantially. The 167 deaths recorded was the lowest number in the past three years, representing a 46% decline from 2024. Unfortunately, this might have been a bit fortuitous since the number of Easter deaths is very variable, and 2024 was a particularly bad year, so the base was high. The 2025 result was actually a bit higher than 2022, when 162 people died. In 2018, there were a shocking 510 deaths. Recently, an organisation called Zutobi, an online driver education platform, published a report which said SA had, in fact, the most dangerous roads to drive on in the world. The report doesn't only use motor accident deaths, it also includes in its rankings seat belt usage rates, maximum speed limits and the number of accidents involving alcohol. The fact-checking website AfricaCheck slightly got on its high horse about these stats, pointing out that the survey includes only 53 countries, heavily weighted towards developed countries. The World Bank actually has a more comprehensive list, although it's now a bit dated. In this list, SA's road accident mortality rate is listed at 22 per 100,000, and puts SA more or less in the middle. The 22 per 100,000 figure is comparable with countries at a similar economic level. Africa Check quotes Dr Lee Randall, an independent researcher on road safety and co-founder of the Road Ethics Project, as saying, 'The surveys are not scientifically sound. They [Zutobi] do not explain how they selected the countries they analysed, and don't justify why they are based on a sample which is heavily skewed towards high-income and upper-middle income countries and omits every single low-income country in the world.' Ok, you know, nobody wants to be listed as the worst in the world when you are not. But the problem is that Zutobi doesn't score countries by the death rate only, but by things such as road traffic deaths attributed to alcohol. And by this measure, SA is just terrible: almost double the rate of the second-worst country on the list, which is Ireland. South Africa's death rate is not only high because of high levels of drunk driving, but also because of a large number of pedestrian deaths. In the most recent results, for example, the Western Cape reported 22 road deaths over the Easter weekend, and of these fatalities, 14 were pedestrians, five were passengers, two were drivers and one was a motorcyclist. It does suggest that SA's education programmes about dangerous driving should also be aimed at pedestrians. The good news is that the World Bank figures suggest that road accident deaths are declining around the world. In developed countries, they almost don't exist. Sweden had two motor accident deaths in 2019, the World Bank's latest figures show. It's something of a curiosity why SA, which has very strict rules on drunk driving, seat belts and speeding, doesn't seem to be making progress in making the roads safer. SA has been at the bottom of the Zutobi list for the past three years, and before that was second-last. The problem is, of course, as with so many other parts of SA's legal system, enforcement. Anecdotally, I suspect the main problem is also cultural. If you go to a supper party in Europe, for example, it will typically be a subject of conversation on who the designated non-drinker is… and if the designated non-drinker drinks, there is a lot of tut-tutting. That never happens in SA – and it shows. DM
The Citizen
27-04-2025
- Automotive
- The Citizen
SA's roads most dangerous in the world to drive on? Not so fast
SA's roads most dangerous in the world to drive on? Not so fast Many would agree that driving on South Africa's roads can feel like an extreme sport. But is it the most dangerous country to drive in? According to Zutobi, an online drivers' education platform, it is. In March, the platform released its 2023 ranking of 'the world's safest roads'. South Africa placed last, while Norway, Hungary and Iceland ranked safest. South Africa's result was unquestioningly and widely covered in the local media, including in the Independent Online, SABC News, Radio Islam, Zululand Observer, Primedia Plus and My Broadband. On social media, the claim attracted views in the hundreds of thousands. But as with the 2022 report, the methodology used means we're not getting a reliable picture. What is Zutobi and how does it rank road safety? Zutobi operates in the US, UK, Australia, Sweden, Germany and France. It provides materials to help learner drivers pass their driver's test. We have contacted the platform to find out why the 2023 report was only released in March 2025 and will update this report with their response. The latest report again ranked 53 countries based on the following factors: Estimated road traffic death rate per 100 000 Maximum motorway speed limit Seatbelt wearing rate Road traffic deaths attributed to alcohol Blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for drivers The survey's findings South Africa had an estimated road traffic death rate of 24.5 per 100 000 people, Zutobi said. It gave the country a maximum speed limit of 120 kilometres per hour, which it said was not far from the 110km/h limit in the safest country to drive in, Norway. The report also said that South Africa had the highest amount of alcohol-related road traffic deaths, at 57.5%, and a seat-belt wearing rate of 31%. For blood alcohol concentration, Zutobi only noted that South Africa's was 0.05 grams per decilitre. To arrive at its overall findings, the survey said it gave each country 'a normalised score' out of 10 for each factor, and then calculated an average across all five factors. Problems with the research methodology But a closer look at the data revealed numerous problems. Zutobi's report covers just 53 countries, with South Africa, Mauritius and Morocco being the only ones from Africa. For road deaths, the survey used the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Health Observatory. We could not find the corresponding figure. The most recent data for South Africa is from 2019, at 22 deaths per 100 000 people. But nearly 60 countries had higher death rates. The list is topped by the Dominican Republic, Zimbabwe and Venezuela, with rates of 65, 41 and 39 respectively. The WHO estimates deaths based on many factors, Binta Sako, a technical officer at the agency's Africa regional office, previously told Africa Check. As a result, its numbers are often higher than the reported numbers. For traffic deaths attributed to alcohol, the WHO doesn't have stats for every country, particularly many in Africa. South Africa's rate, as the Zutobi report points out, was one of the highest globally at 57.5% of all crashes in 2017. That remains the most recent data. However, the crash data covers only 93 countries and territories – less than half of the world. That list was headed by Micronesia, Tonga and Vanuatu where 100%, 77% and 67% of all crashes were attributed to alcohol. The statistics on seat-belt wearing and BAC limits are also still from 2017, though the latter – 0.05g/dl – does tally with national law. The WHO data shows seat-belt use was lower in Bolivia (3.5%), India (7.3%), Peru (15.8%) and Ecuador (26%) than in South Africa (31%). Dr Lee Randall, an independent researcher on road safety and co-founder of the Road Ethics Project, told Africa Check that this category ignores other motor vehicles, such as motorcycles, which 'form a very dominant part of the traffic mix in many countries, especially in Africa and South-East Asia'. For speed limit data, Zutobi used Wikipedia. While it isn't considered reliable as anyone can edit it, the figure of 120km/h is correct. Other sources used in the survey include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Road Safety Observatory. But these don't have data for the majority of the world's 197 countries. South Africa ranks 'somewhere in the middle' Dr Randall has previously flagged significant issues with the research methods used to compile the 2022 report. She told Africa Check that her reservations still stand. 'The surveys are not scientifically sound. They [Zutobi] do not explain how they selected the countries they analysed, and don't justify why they are based on a sample which is heavily skewed towards high-income and upper-middle income countries and omits every single low-income country in the world.' According to Randall, apart from safe speeds, the report focuses mainly on driver behaviours. This ignored other important factors of road traffic safety, such as safe vehicles, roadside safety and post-crash care, she said. 'Had a more representative sample of countries been chosen – from all regions and all income categories – it would be clear that South Africa is somewhere in the middle of the list, not at the bottom.' This article was originally published on Africa Check, an organisation that identifies important public statements, interrogate the best available evidence and publish fact-checking reports to guide public debate. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kentucky teens could be behind the wheel a year early with new bill
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) — Kentucky House Bill 15 would decrease the age drivers can get their learners permit from 16 to 15. 'It allows for students and young people to learn about driving and the process of driving a little sooner,' Kentucky State House representative J.T. Payne said. Payne is the representative for Henderson County and one of the sponsors for the bill. 'It's just a common sense thing that Kentucky is a little bit behind on,' he said. 'It's one of those things that is simple that will produce good results for the people of Kentucky.' Kentucky is the only state south of Delaware that has a 16 or above age requirement for learners permit. But Kentucky also has the highest teen driving fatality rate, according to a report from Zutobi. 'How is what they are doing currently, going to keep those 15 year olds safe,' Misty Siders, someone who has worked in drivers education for over 25 years, said. The proposed bill does not change any of the requirements that drivers have to complete before getting their license, like 60 hours of supervised driving practice and at least 10 hours of night driving. Both Siders and Payne agreed that experience as soon as possible is what's best for young drivers. 'Let them drive you,' she said. 'I want them supervised as long as possible before they are out on their own unsupervised. That's what's going to make them good drivers.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
