The fact that New York teenage drivers get involved in accidents more than average people can stem from their lack of experience driving on highways and roads. Data can show that teenage drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a car accident than older drivers. Teenagers often start driving with mere days or weeks of experience. Consequently, they often neglect to follow safety practices with care.
There can be quite a few factors that cause teenage car accidents, including:
Driving While Intoxicated – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 30% of teenagers admit being in the vehicle with a drunk driver. Accidents resulting from teenage drunk driving can be fairly common and often result in death or serious injury.
Reckless Driving – Teenagers often fail to properly understand the risks involved in careless driving and speeding owing to a lack of experience. Especially in adverse weather conditions, this can cause serious problems.
Distracted Driving – It is common for teenage drivers to be distracted by other passengers. A CDC study indicates that two out of three car accident deaths involving 16-year-old drivers happen during the presence of other teen passengers in the car.
Using the Phone While Driving – With the immense popularity of smartphone use by teenagers, using the phone while driving is always a serious threat. A lot of teenagers believe that it is okay to read and send text messages during driving. However, they fail to consider that while their eyes are off the road, their vehicles can travel hundreds of feet in a few seconds.
Driving After Dark – During the night, the likelihood of fatal teen driving accidents can increase significantly. This can be due to a higher rate of drunk driving after dark and a tendency to become distracted by passengers in the vehicle.
What is the Financial Liability of the At-Fault Teens and Parents?
If you have suffered serious injuries resulting directly from the actions of a teenage driver, you might be able to file a claim for damages with the concerned insurance company. The right New York attorney can help you recover damages resulting from the negligence of a teen driver or the vicarious liability of their parents for the negligence.
To establish negligence on the part of a teenager, it is important to show that a duty of care was owed to you by the teenage driver and you suffered harm directly because of a breach of that duty of care. A lot of things can be considered a breach of the duty of care, including texting, tailgating, speeding, weaving, and improper reaction to altered traffic conditions.
Drivers must be insured in the case of car accidents. While some teen drivers might be listed on the insurance policy of their parents, some might not be. While a teen driver might or might not be insured and cannot usually satisfy a judgement, there might be grounds to hold the parents vicariously liable for the damages.
According to Section 388 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, if the negligent use of a car results in the injuries or death of a person, the owner of the vehicle in New York can be considered responsible and liable. This means that, in situations where an at-fault teenage driver drives a car owned by either parent and causes an accident, the parents can be made to bear the financial responsibility for the accident.
Under a theory of negligent entrustment, a parent who provides a teen with a vehicle, being fully aware that their use of the vehicle may endanger others, can be held liable. If any foreseeable harm comes from the improper or irresponsible use of any dangerous instrument under parental control by the child, the parent has a duty to protect other parties from that harm.
If there is a failure on the part of the parents to exercise reasonable discretion in trusting a child with an instrument that can cause unreasonable harm to others, keeping in mind the type of the instrument and the age, intelligence, and disposition of the child, responsibility can rest directly with the parents.
If you can establish liability in such a case, you can recover both economic and non-economic damages. These can include medical bills, compensation for lost wages and loss in earning capacity, rehabilitation costs, a replacement for household services, loss of consortium, and compensation for pain and suffering.
Distracted Driving and Speeding among Teens
It is well-known that teenagers love speed. When they get behind the wheel of a car, they often tend to drive too fast, ignoring the speed limits. Speeding is one of the root causes of teen car accidents.
If the teen gets a speeding ticket after the accident, your case can improve drastically. If the other driver is found charged with a traffic violation, it can help establish that your liability is far less than the other driver.
Distractions, like texting or talking on a cell phone or talking with friends, can lead to car accidents in many cases. Driving while distracted, however, is not a valid excuse when it comes to liability in car accidents.
While the chances of proving a teen driver at fault can enhance dramatically if they were distracted, proving liability can sometimes be difficult. An experienced car accident lawyer from a reputed law firm like Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP can be a great help in gathering evidence that establishes distracted driving.
As an example, it might be possible to get phone records from the phone company used by the teen driver to establish whether a call was being made or a text sent during the accident.
How to Help Your Teen Become a Safe Driver
There are many factors, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), that can contribute to an elevated risk of accidents from teenage drivers. These can include speeding, tailgating, driving under the influence of alcohol, overestimating their own driving skills, and underestimating the dangers of driving situations.
Minimizing these factors and helping your teen understand the nuances and responsibilities of driving can be a great way for you to help your teenage child become a safer driver.
Several tactics and techniques can also be employed by parents to encourage teenagers to drive safer. You can:
- Ensure that teens take a defensive driving course or compulsory drivers’ training.
- Create strict rules about the presence of friends in the car while driving. When the driver pays attention to the passengers instead of the road, the conditions become ripe for an accident. You can minimize such dangers by forbidding a teen driver from transporting friends.
- Create strict rules about cell phone use and texting. Texting is one of the most dangerous practices that lead to distracted driving and resultant accidents. Establish a zero-tolerance policy regarding cell phone use while driving. Ensure that your teen knows that cell phone use during driving will result in the loss of vehicle use privileges.
- Use GPS monitoring software and devices to monitor if your teen is strictly following speed limits and keeping to the rules of the road. While this might be controversial, keeping tabs on teenagers can give parents peace of mind regarding safe driving practices.
Do You Need a Lawyer If You Are Hit By A Teenage Driver?
Protecting your legal rights with the help of a seasoned New York car accident attorney can be the best step forward. Since teen drivers are the most likely, in any age group, to be involved in car accidents, it is wise to be prepared if you suffer an accident due to no fault of your own.
It is important to worry about future health implications if you are trying to recover from injuries sustained in a teenage car accident. Veteran car accident lawyers at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP can help you fight for the compensation you need. Discuss your case with a skilled New York teen car accident lawyer by filling out our online contact form or calling us at 212-344-1000.
Teenage drivers are involved in many car accidents in New York. These accidents may result from lack of experience, following other drivers too closely, failing to yield the right-of-way, failing to pay attention to the road, unsafe driving, and speeding.
Moreover, failure to properly use seatbelts causes serious injury or death for many teenage drivers. This is in spite of the law that mandates proper use of seatbelts while riding in a vehicle with a junior licensed driver.
The rate of teen car accidents is higher than that of any other age group according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drivers between 16 and 19 years of age are at fault more frequently than older drivers with more experience. Teenagers might have less regard for the risk associated with a particular driver behavior or underestimate how long it takes to complete the maneuver.
They are also more likely to drive over speed limits and be distracted by conversations or texts. There is a higher chance that teenage drivers would disregard dangerous road conditions or fail to deal with them properly. The New York State Graduated Driver Licensing Law restricts unsupervised night driving for junior permit holders and junior licensed drivers.
Teen Driving Accidents in New York: Causes and Frequency
The fact that New York teenage drivers get involved in accidents more than average people can stem from their lack of experience driving on highways and roads. Data can show that teenage drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a car accident than older drivers. Teenagers often start driving with mere days or weeks of experience. Consequently, they often neglect to follow safety practices with care.
There can be quite a few factors that cause teenage car accidents, including:
Driving While Intoxicated – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 30% of teenagers admit being in the vehicle with a drunk driver. Accidents resulting from teenage drunk driving can be fairly common and often result in death or serious injury.
Reckless Driving – Teenagers often fail to properly understand the risks involved in careless driving and speeding owing to a lack of experience. Especially in adverse weather conditions, this can cause serious problems.
Distracted Driving – It is common for teenage drivers to be distracted by other passengers. A CDC study indicates that two out of three car accident deaths involving 16-year-old drivers happen during the presence of other teen passengers in the car.
Using the Phone While Driving – With the immense popularity of smartphone use by teenagers, using the phone while driving is always a serious threat. A lot of teenagers believe that it is okay to read and send text messages during driving. However, they fail to consider that while their eyes are off the road, their vehicles can travel hundreds of feet in a few seconds.
Driving After Dark – During the night, the likelihood of fatal teen driving accidents can increase significantly. This can be due to a higher rate of drunk driving after dark and a tendency to become distracted by passengers in the vehicle.
What is the Financial Liability of the At-Fault Teens and Parents?
If you have suffered serious injuries resulting directly from the actions of a teenage driver, you might be able to file a claim for damages with the concerned insurance company. The right New York attorney can help you recover damages resulting from the negligence of a teen driver or the vicarious liability of their parents for the negligence.
To establish negligence on the part of a teenager, it is important to show that a duty of care was owed to you by the teenage driver and you suffered harm directly because of a breach of that duty of care. A lot of things can be considered a breach of the duty of care, including texting, tailgating, speeding, weaving, and improper reaction to altered traffic conditions.
Drivers must be insured in the case of car accidents. While some teen drivers might be listed on the insurance policy of their parents, some might not be. While a teen driver might or might not be insured and cannot usually satisfy a judgement, there might be grounds to hold the parents vicariously liable for the damages.
According to Section 388 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law, if the negligent use of a car results in the injuries or death of a person, the owner of the vehicle in New York can be considered responsible and liable. This means that, in situations where an at-fault teenage driver drives a car owned by either parent and causes an accident, the parents can be made to bear the financial responsibility for the accident.
Under a theory of negligent entrustment, a parent who provides a teen with a vehicle, being fully aware that their use of the vehicle may endanger others, can be held liable. If any foreseeable harm comes from the improper or irresponsible use of any dangerous instrument under parental control by the child, the parent has a duty to protect other parties from that harm.
If there is a failure on the part of the parents to exercise reasonable discretion in trusting a child with an instrument that can cause unreasonable harm to others, keeping in mind the type of the instrument and the age, intelligence, and disposition of the child, responsibility can rest directly with the parents.
If you can establish liability in such a case, you can recover both economic and non-economic damages. These can include medical bills, compensation for lost wages and loss in earning capacity, rehabilitation costs, a replacement for household services, loss of consortium, and compensation for pain and suffering.
Distracted Driving and Speeding among Teens
It is well-known that teenagers love speed. When they get behind the wheel of a car, they often tend to drive too fast, ignoring the speed limits. Speeding is one of the root causes of teen car accidents.
If the teen gets a speeding ticket after the accident, your case can improve drastically. If the other driver is found charged with a traffic violation, it can help establish that your liability is far less than the other driver.
Distractions, like texting or talking on a cell phone or talking with friends, can lead to car accidents in many cases. Driving while distracted, however, is not a valid excuse when it comes to liability in car accidents.
While the chances of proving a teen driver at fault can enhance dramatically if they were distracted, proving liability can sometimes be difficult. An experienced car accident lawyer from a reputed law firm like Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP can be a great help in gathering evidence that establishes distracted driving.
As an example, it might be possible to get phone records from the phone company used by the teen driver to establish whether a call was being made or a text sent during the accident.
How to Help Your Teen Become a Safe Driver
There are many factors, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), that can contribute to an elevated risk of accidents from teenage drivers. These can include speeding, tailgating, driving under the influence of alcohol, overestimating their own driving skills, and underestimating the dangers of driving situations.
Minimizing these factors and helping your teen understand the nuances and responsibilities of driving can be a great way for you to help your teenage child become a safer driver.
Several tactics and techniques can also be employed by parents to encourage teenagers to drive safer. You can:
- Ensure that teens take a defensive driving course or compulsory drivers’ training.
- Create strict rules about the presence of friends in the car while driving. When the driver pays attention to the passengers instead of the road, the conditions become ripe for an accident. You can minimize such dangers by forbidding a teen driver from transporting friends.
- Create strict rules about cell phone use and texting. Texting is one of the most dangerous practices that lead to distracted driving and resultant accidents. Establish a zero-tolerance policy regarding cell phone use while driving. Ensure that your teen knows that cell phone use during driving will result in the loss of vehicle use privileges.
- Use GPS monitoring software and devices to monitor if your teen is strictly following speed limits and keeping to the rules of the road. While this might be controversial, keeping tabs on teenagers can give parents peace of mind regarding safe driving practices.
Do You Need a Lawyer If You Are Hit By A Teenage Driver?
Protecting your legal rights with the help of a seasoned New York car accident attorney can be the best step forward. Since teen drivers are the most likely, in any age group, to be involved in car accidents, it is wise to be prepared if you suffer an accident due to no fault of your own.
It is important to worry about future health implications if you are trying to recover from injuries sustained in a teenage car accident. Veteran car accident lawyers at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP can help you fight for the compensation you need. Discuss your case with a skilled New York teen car accident lawyer by filling out our online contact form or calling us at 212-344-1000.
