Summer vacation can be deadly for teen drivers

For kids who attend Forest Grove Schools, this week will bring the start of summer vacation and with it the nearly three months of freedom that comes with the warmest months of the year. Parents do you remember that feeling? Summer vacation was about to start and you were free to go hang out with your friends and enjoy being a kid, as a kid it was all about bicycle riding and playing outside. Then as a teenager it was all about loading up your friends into the car and cruising the abundant local back roads with the music up loud until the stars came out and the cooler night air came through the windows. Do you also remember those times when maybe you had a close call - driving too fast, losing control and spinning the car out or putting it into the ditch, or maybe it was the time that you really crashed hard and the car flipped and you walked away?

The summer can be a time where we build those lifelong memories of our youth, but it is also recognized as the most deadly season for our teenage drivers. Parents now is a great time to sit down with your new drivers and have a serious chat about what you expect from them when they turn the key in the ignition and head out onto the roads. Our friends at AAA have identified the top ten deadly teen driver mistakes.

1. Risk Taking


2. Unbuckled


3. Speed


4. Rowdy drivers and passengers


5. Cell phones and texting or talking


6. Messing with the radio


7. Light night cruising


8. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol


9. Peer pressure to do things that they shouldn't be doing


10. Overconfidence

We all remember our summers off from school, and for our teenage kids they are already looking forward to summer freedom and building memories of their own, while at the same time parents are dreading this time of year. A little trust, communication, and shared responsibility now will go a long way to helping instill the values that the new driver needs to be expected to be a safe driver later. Please talk to your kids about safe driving this summer.