AAA warning parents, teen drivers to prepare for ‘100 deadliest days’

BEAVERCREEK — AAA is warning the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is called the “100 deadliest days on the road.”

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On average, at least 2,000 teens each year are involved in deadly crashes nationwide and a third of the nation’s deadliest crashes involving teen drivers happen over the summer.

News Center 7′s Xavier Hershovitz spoke with a driving school instructor who has some really good tips for parents of teen drivers.

He spoke with Sharon Fife, President of D&D Driving School in Kettering. She says drivers in their first year on the road have the highest crash rate.

She suggested some things parents should do:

• Limit where new drivers drive
• Limit how many people are in the car
• Limit the time of day a new driver is driving

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Fife told Hershovitz parents can also get an app to help monitor their teen driver on everything from where they are driving to how they are driving.

“How fast they’re going, where they’re going, how they’re driving. There are so many apps out there to help them with that,” she said. “It gives the teenager, even though they’re not in the car, it makes them know their parents are watching regardless of where they are.”

Fife says many insurance companies offer these apps and she highly recommends them for teen drivers.

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Hershovitz also says teen drivers in their first year behind the wheel are at the highest risk for a crash.

There are some behaviors behind that, according to AAA.

The common risk factors for teen drivers are:

• Distracted driving
• Driving with teen passengers
• Speeding
• Not wearing a safety belt

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Fife says we have a role to keep each other safe out on the roads.

“You have to look out for each other. Even if maybe, somebody is a little distracted, you leave them more space, you stay away from them, you give them a little more room,” she told Hershovitz. “If I see somebody without their headlights on, I flash my lights. You try to take care of each other when you’re driving.”

Fife says at her driving school the biggest thing she stresses is decision-making.

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