Teen drivers cause many nighttime car accidents

Parents of teenagers know that teaching them to drive can be a scary experience. These young drivers are given the heavy responsibility of operating a motor vehicle in a safe fashion with no experience. Although parents and driver education programs do their part to ensure these motorists are skilled and knowledgeable before being released on to the roadways, the truth of the matter is that it can take a significant amount of time for some of them to develop the experience and skills necessary to be safe drivers.

One particularly hazardous condition that confronts young drivers is the nighttime. Of course, it’s more difficult to see things in during the night, so accident rates are increased for all motorists. Teenagers, however, especially those between the ages of 16 and 17, have triple the risk of being involved in a fatal accident. These accidents aren’t solely attributable to late hours, either. In fact, statistics show that more of these fatal accidents occur between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. than between 9:00 p.m. and midnight.

There might be a number of reasons that many teenage drivers face more risks at night. A lot of it can be chalked up to their inexperience, but fatigue may also play a role, considering the fact that these youngsters may have been at school all day followed by extracurricular activities. While driving, their minds may wander, causing them to lose focus on the road. There are surely other factors, such as texting and driving and drunk driving that contribute to these wrecks.

The sad reality is that teenagers cause many of these car accidents, but they are not the only victims. Oftentimes, other motorists pay the price of their mistakes, which may mean being left with a painful and long-lasting injury, the incurrence of unexpected medical expenses and lost wages and emotional trauma. For these victims, legal options for recovering compensation may be available to them, which is why personal injury attorneys stand ready to assist.