We were so excited to be invited to the Allstate Foundation’s Drive It Home Event at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, PA tonight! This was a Comedy Show about Teen Driving which combined comedy and education. Our evening began with a fun educational comedy skit via Second City Comedy Troupe. The gentleman below was our MC for the night.
It was a very funny spoof that included the “Dr. Bill Show” with a skit about how Dr. Bill was helping a mother and daughter navigate the dangers of teaching a teen how to drive. Emotions run high in these situations, and it was fun to add some humor to a very serious subject matter. The lighthearted atmosphere was a great way to get parents and teens to see how unsafe it really is to just throw caution to the wind and let your child drive by themselves without parental support.
After the comedy show, we were introduced to one of the major National Safety Council experts who discussed some very scary teen driving statistics. Did you know that about one half of all teens will be in an accident before their 18th birthday? Also, the statistics for teen driving accidents goes up over 70% for each teen passenger that is in the car? Accidents are more likely as you add more kids to the car, and as an adult, I can see how this happens. Good judgment goes out the window as teens surround themselves with more teens than adults.
The most touching part of the evening was this mother’s story about how her young son was killed in a teen driving accident two years ago. Three out of the four boys in the car were killed, and her story was absolutely heart wrenching. There weren’t many dry eyes in the house after she shared her story of dropping to her knees and screaming her son’s name.
What I took away from this experience, as a mother, is that I will drive with my son for ALL of the required hours. However, after he gets his license, I will drive with him for at least thirty minutes per week. I will limit the number of other student drivers he is allowed to have in his car. Knowing myself so well, I will probably never let him drive with another child until he is in his twenties!! Even though this mother’s son was wearing his seat belt, there were four teens in the car, which supports the statistics shared by the National Safety Council expert. Finally, what I learned most is that I need to know my child, be a guiding hand, and not be swayed by others in protecting him and making sure he gets through the most dangerous years of his life.
Facts Pennsylvania Parents Need to Know about Teen Drivers
New Allstate Foundation Survey Research from The Allstate Foundation shows that parents don’t understand the most deadly risks to their teens’ safety.
- 39% of Pennsylvania parents don’t know that the biggest safety risk to their teens is parked right outside their home.
- Parents believe that risk-taking is the primary cause of crashes, when inexperience is the real issue. Only 22% of Pennsylvania parents say a teen’s lack of driving experience is the top cause of crashes.
- Parents say it’s very important for their teen to learn a variety of skills behind the wheel, but aren’t teaching their teen to manage the highest risk driving situations. Nearly 73% of parents in Pennsylvania are not covering how to manage the deadly risks – such as nighttime driving and driving with young passengers – with their teens. Oddly enough, parents and teens agree that they should have spent more time practicing in dangerous conditions, according to The Allstate Foundation.
- If they had it to do over again, nearly five out of 10 parents in Pennsylvania said they would expose their teens to higher-risk driving situations when teaching their teens to drive. The national numbers are seven out of 10 parents.
- 53% of Pennsylvania teens wish their parents had spent more time teaching them to drive in demanding situations. The national percentage is 55%. Parents need and want to do more to keep their teen driver safer on the road.
- If they had it to do over again, 46% of parents in Pennsylvania agreed they would more closely monitor their teen’s driving immediately after licensure.
- Most parents are not setting rules around the most dangerous behaviors on the road, including passengers and nighttime driving. Just 39% of Pennsylvania teens said their parents have set rules on night restrictions, while just 36% say they have restrictions on the number of passengers in the car.
- In Pennsylvania, 71% of parents are looking for resources to help them manage their teen’s driving experience.
Other Pennsylvania Facts
- According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 457 fatalities in crashes involving at least one 15- to 19-year-old motor vehicle driver in Pennsylvania from 2009-11. A total of 175 teen drivers (15-19), 108 teen passengers (15-19) and 33 other age passengers in the teen’s vehicle and
- 141 others were killed in those crashes.
- Pennsylvania teens must log a minimum of 50 practice hours, including 15 at night, before they can
obtain a driver’s license.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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