Letters: Car Accidents the #1 Killer of Teens

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Letters: Car Accidents the #1 Killer of Teens

Friday, September 25, 2009

Hi Bill,

Each year, 5,000 teens are killed in car accidents and more than 300,000 are injured.

To the surprise of many, it isn’t drugs, alcohol, or suicide that take the most lives of American teenagers. It’s car accidents. And, the primary cause of these fatal collisions is driver error. To help teens become smarter drivers, Allstate New Jersey recently held three distracted driving challenges for teens – including one in Philadelphia and one in Skillman, NJ.

The link below contains some startling statistics on teen drivers that I am certain would be of great interest to your readers. The loss of young lives on our roadways is a public health epidemic that deserves greater attention than it is receiving. We have heard much about the dangers of texting and driving recently, but other distractions are often left out of the discussion, such as loud music, rowdy passengers, and eating/drinking while driving.

The link also contains video of the event in Skillman, NJ. Just like the teens who participated in the challenge, I think most of your readers will be shocked to see the impact that distractions can have on a person’s ability to avoid a crash. As you can see by all the cones getting knocked over on the driving course, many teens learned that distractions, in fact, do have a serious effect on their ability to drive safely.

http://pitch.pe/26359

Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like any additional information.

Thanks,

Jennifer A. Fagan
Communication Consultant
Stakeholder Relations

Allstate New Jersey Insurance Company
721 Route 202/206 South (Suite 100)
Bridgewater, NJ 08807