Summer is a time for warm weather, road trips, vacations and a break from school for high school and college students. Many people see it as a relatively happy and carefree part of the year.
Unfortunately, though, there is a dark side. The summer also leads to a statistical increase in fatal teen accidents. What is it about the summer that makes car crashes more likely?
More teen drivers are on the road
The first thing to note is that teen drivers are more likely to be involved in car accidents at any time of year, when you look at their fatal accident rate. There are relatively few teen drivers, but they cause a disproportionate number of car accidents. In fact, car accidents are one of the leading causes of death for this age group, and they cause these accidents at a higher rate than any other age group.
The summer is not any different, except that there are more of these drivers on the road. They do not have to go to school, which traditionally occupies their time during the rest of the year. As there is an influx of young drivers on roads all across the state, serious car accidents are also going to rise.
This means that the risk also extends to anyone else who will be sharing the road with these young drivers over the summer months. If you have lost a loved one in a fatal crash or suffered serious injuries in an accident someone else caused, be sure that you know what legal options you have moving forward.