BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — One text message, one distraction, one bad decision — that's all it takes for teen drivers.
With National Teen Driver Safety Week approaching, law enforcement and advocates are urging teenagers and their parents to take a closer look at what's at stake when young people get behind the wheel.
Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. According to the Bakersfield Police Department, teens make up about 5% of the driving population but account for 12.5% of all collisions.
"So anything we can do to decrease that number, and keep all the drivers on the roadways safe, is what we want to do, and that's why we want to participate in bringing awareness to those issues," Sgt. Joshua Deutinger said.
Deutinger with BPD says texting, driving with friends, and listening to music are all common distractions that take young drivers' attention off the road. He also says speeding is one of the leading factors contributing to teen crashes.
Deutinger adds that teens account for 8.5% of all fatal collisions.
"And a lot of those could be reduced or be more minor injuries if seatbelts were being used at the time of the crash," Deutinger said.
"Things like wearing your seatbelt, driving the speed limit, or driving the flow of traffic are so crucial, especially because thousands and thousands of students just like me unfortunately pass away in car crashes every single year," Shourya Shavkani said.
Shavkani is the student president of Students Against Destructive Decisions. He believes students know the risks of driving and need to take the responsibility seriously.
"You owe it to your parents to get home and come home at the end of the day and say I love you. It's things like that where we want to ensure that families are staying together. Overall, we just want to ensure safety among all teens across the country," Shavkani said.
Deutinger says parents can make a large impact on the decisions their child makes while driving by making good choices themselves. He says teens will pay attention to what you do, not what you say.
"So if you're driving around and you're on your phone, you're drinking, you're running red lights, your kids are watching, and they're going to see that and that's the behavior they're going to model," Deutinger said.
While National Teen Driver Safety Week only lasts seven days, the choices made behind the wheel can last a lifetime.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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