AAA: 100 Deadliest Days For Teen Drivers Begin

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The 100 days after Memorial Day are known as the deadliest for teen drivers. Researchers analyzed 2,200 dashcam videos and found nearly 60 percent of teen crashes involved distracted driving, according to a new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Texting and social media use behind the wheel is also on the rise, according to the AAA Foundation.

Over the past five years, more than 5,000 people have been killed in crashes involving teen drivers during the "100 Deadliest Days."

The new study compared new crash videos with those captured from 2007 -2012 and found consistent trends in the top three distractions for teens when behind the wheel in the moments leading up to a crash

• Talking or attending to other passengers in the vehicle: 15 percent of crashes
• Talking, texting or operating a cell phone: 12 percent of crashes
• Attending to or looking at something inside the vehicle: 11 percent of crashes

"Every day during the summer driving season, an average of 10 people die as a result of injuries from a crash involving a teen driver" said Jurek Grabowski, Research Director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "This new research shows that distraction continues to be one of the leading causes of crashes for teen drivers. By better understanding how teens are distracted on the road, we can better prevent deaths throughout the 100 Deadliest Days and the rest of the year."

"It's no secret that teens are extremely connected to their cell phones," said Matt Nasworthy, Traffic Safety Consultant for AAA – The Auto Club Group. "Many teens are texting or using social media behind the wheel more often than in the past, which is making an unsafe situation even worse."

Research by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that texting creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. A recent AAA Foundation survey shows that nearly 50 percent of teen drivers admitted they had read a text message or email while driving in the past 30 days. NHTSA's National Occupant Protection Use Survey also shows that from 2007 to 2014, the percentage of young drivers seen visibly manipulating a hand-held device quadrupled.

"Nearly two-thirds of people injured or killed in crashes involving a teen driver are people other than the teen themselves," continued Nasworthy. "This shows that teen drivers can be a risk to everyone on the road and it is important to regulate their actions when behind the wheel."

Keeping cell phones out of the hands of teen drivers is a top priority for AAA. The Association's advocacy efforts are helping to protect teens by working to pass graduated driver licensing laws and teen wireless bans in states across the country.

In preparation for the "100 Deadliest Days", AAA encourages parents to educate their teen about the dangers of distracted driving and monitor their actions behind the wheel. Parents should:

• Have conversations early and often about the dangers of distraction.
• Make a parent-teen driving agreement that sets family rules against distracted driving.
• Teach by example and minimize distractions when driving.

TeenDriving.AAA.com has a variety of tools to help prepare parents and teens for the dangerous summer driving season. The online AAA StartSmart program also offers great resources for parents on how to become effective in-car coaches as well as advice on how to manage their teen's overall driving privileges. Teens preparing for the responsibility of driving should enroll in a driver education program that teaches how to avoid driver distraction and other safety skills.