BEHIND THE WHEEL: Officers are urging teenagers to be especially careful while driving
May 7—The leading cause of death for teenagers in the U.S. is traffic crashes, and with May being Youth Traffic Safety Month, law enforcement officials are urging teens to be extra careful on the road.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, teens are involved in three times as many fatalities as other drivers. Statistics suggest 2,270 teens ages 16-19 were killed, and 221,313 were treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to vehicle crashes in 2014.
Sixty percent of teen driving crashes are the result of distracted driving, and that statistic is expected to increase as youngsters are learning how to drive during the peak of the digital age.
According to AAA, one of the most dangerous sources of distraction for teen drivers is teen passengers. Fifteen percent of crashes involving teens occur when the driver is interacting with other young passengers.
Tahlequah Police Chief Nate King there are several ways everyone — and not just teenagers — can reduce those distractions.
"The more you can focus on what you're doing, the safer, theoretically, you're going to be," said King. "In Oklahoma years ago, on that restrictive driver's license, it limited the number of passengers teenagers could have within those first couple of years of having their license."
States enacted Graduated Driver Licensing programs that allow drivers to safely gain experience behind the wheel before they obtain full driving privileges.
Restrictions in three stages are removed as the teen gains experience and competency. It begins with a learner's permit, followed by an intermediate stage, and then to full-privilege license.
In Oklahoma, the learner stage requires the supervised driving hours at 50, with 10 night hours. The nighttime driving restriction is 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the intermediate stage. Full-privilege minimum age is 16 years and 6 months with driver's ed, and 17 years old without driver's ed.
King said the main area of town where issues with juvenile drivers arise is East Downing Street on Fridays and Saturdays.
"You can fun and still be safe, and you don't have to drive 90 miles an hour to have fun. We just ask people to obey the traffic laws and once again, reduce those distractions in the vehicle so they can focus on driving and stay safe," said King.
The chief said the department plans to form a traffic unit once it is operating at full-staff.
"It's going to be three officers who will basically rotate shifts — kind of a floating shift — and work together. They'll be focusing on a lot of residential streets that has speeding problems: Downing Street, Muskogee [Avenue] and the [Bertha Parker] Bypass, where we have stoplight complaints quite often," said King.
Summer months are the most dangerous for teenagers on the road.
"Teenagers, and just everybody, need to pay attention to their surroundings when they're driving. Leave ample distance in between the car in front of you, and the biggest thing — no matter how old you are, and especially with younger drivers — is the distracted driving," said King.
