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Study: Teen Car Accidents Spike In October

Claims For Teens Go Up 20 Percent Compared With Other Months, State Farm Says

CHICAGO (STNG) ― A recent State Farm insurance study found car accidents among teen drivers spike in October.

Claims for teens go up 20 percent in October compared with a typical month, according to a study that looked at claims going back five years.

"We're extremely busy at this time of year," said Larry Williams, a State Farm agent in Chicago. "I think more than anything it's because it gets dark quicker. The roads are slicker. The weather's changing, with the rain and the leaves."

State Farm didn't look at only accidents with injuries, but all claims, including those that aren't reported to police. Spring and summer see the most fatal accidents.

Teens tend to be busy in October, driving to football games and other school activities. The third week of October is National Teen Driver Safety Week -- so this is a good time to talk to new drivers about keeping their eyes on the road and their fingers off cell phones and radio dials.
Williams said speeding and aggressive driving are the biggest factors in bad teen driving -- and he sees it more with boys than girls.

"I think it's that macho-type mentality with guys," said Williams, himself the parent of a teenage boy. Williams visits driver's ed classes to talk sense to kids.

Williams is a proponent of graduated driving laws, which took effect in Illinois this year. Under the law, drivers in training must practice a minimum of 50 hours, including 10 hours of nighttime driving under the supervision of an adult. For the first year after getting a license, or until the driver is age 18, the number of passengers is limited to one person under age 20, unless the additional passenger is a sibling or child of the driver.

Cell phone use is prohibited except in case of emergency.

Along with studying the frequency of accidents, State Farm surveyed 1,007 parents of teen drivers. Parents reported that their teens spent an average of 71 hours behind the wheel practicing before taking the driving test. Most moms -- 71 percent -- said they were nervous when they taught their kids to drive, while dads were more relaxed, with 48 percent admitting to teen-at-the-wheel anxiety.

The survey also found that some parents want teens to do what they say -- not what they do.

While 94 percent of parents surveyed restricted their teen from using a cell phone while driving, 65 percent of parents admitted that they talk on their phones while they drive.

Another 51 percent admitted that they drive more than 10 miles over the speed limit sometimes, and the same percentage admitted driving while they're upset or emotional.

Besides looking out for teens behind the wheel, watch for deer. October through December is the high season for deer collisions, which kill more than 150 people and 1.5 million deer every year, according to a Response Insurance report.

This isn't just a rural problem -- anyone driving down Irving Park through the Cook County Forest Preserve can see deer nibbling grass by the side of the road.

Experts attribute the problem to mating and migration habits and shortened daylight hours -- so yes, it's similar to the teen human phenomenon.

Response Insurance spokesman Ray Palermo suggests a few basic cautions for drivers:

• Scan a wide swath of the roadside, and slow down when approaching a deer. If necessary, honk the horn and flash your lights to scare it away.

• Know that if there's one deer, his friends are often nearby.

• Usually, it's best not to swerve around the deer since she may move in the same direction. It's often best to just brake and continue in your lane of traffic.

• Be especially careful at dawn or dusk or when driving over a hill or around a curve.

• Take deer crossing signs seriously.

• Deer whistles or ultrasonic deer avoidance systems don't work, so don't trust them.

(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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