NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas reminds everyone that the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day is a season of increased risk, especially for teen drivers, on the roadways, making the summer days the 100 Deadliest Days of the year.
"There is a lot of unstructured time for teen drivers," Steward said. "They are not in school. They are out having fun with their friends, maybe going to summer jobs, spending a lot more time driving at night than they do during the school year, which can be a risky element."
The numbers of people killed in crashes involving teens during the summer is significant.
"In Kansas, 105 people were killed in crashes involving teen drivers during the 100 Deadliest Days in a ten-year period from 2012 to 2021," Steward said. "That represents 34% of all vehicle crash fatalities during that time period."
The AAA Teen Driver Website has a variety of tools to help prepare parents and teens for the dangerous summer driving season.
"Speak with your teens about those risky behaviors," Steward said. "Speeding, distracted driving, not wearing seatbelts, impaired driving, basics that we always talk about, but they are especially important during this summer period where teenagers are out."
More than half of those killed in the summer months of 2022 were someone other than the driver, including nearly 1,600 pedestrians and almost 2,200 motorcyclists.
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