Obtaining a driver’s license is a right of passage for many teenagers in Oshkosh. However, a teen’s inexperience behind the wheel could lead to a car crash that injures or even kills other individuals. Teens also might not appreciate the dangers that speeding, distracted driving or drunk driving present. In fact, a AAA study has reviewed that teens have a higher rate of potentially deadly crashes in the summertime.
Some people refer to the weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day as the “100 deadliest days,” because this period sees an increased amount of deadly crashes involving teenage motorists. According to a AAA study, speeding, distracted driving and drunk driving were the top three factors in fatal collisions involving teenage drivers during this time.
The study found that almost 50 percent of teenagers admitted to speeding in residential zones. One in six teenage motorists involved in drunk driving crashes had alcohol in their system. Finally, 52 percent of teenage motorists admitted to reading texts or emails while driving.
Any of these acts — speeding, distracted driving or drunk driving — could be deemed a breach of a motorist’s duty of care to drive safely. This is true even for teenage motorists. If a motorist engages in these behaviors and causes a car accident that injures or kills another individual, that motorist may be held liable in a subsequent personal injury claim. Such claims may provide a means for victims of motor vehicle accidents to be compensated for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and emotional trauma that they experienced due to the crash.
