SOUTHLAND – (INT) - More than 1,050 people were killed – nationwide - in crashes involving a teen driver in 2016 during the 100 Deadliest Days, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. That is an average of 10 people per day – a 14 percent increase compared to the rest of the year.

The statistics were analyzed by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Speed and nighttime driving are significant factors contributing towards the number of crashes, and subsequently fatalities, involving teen drivers during the 100 Deadliest.

In California, teen driver fatalities (age 16-19) increased 26.4 percent from 72 in 2013 to 91 in 2014. Males make up nearly 77 percent of teen driver fatalities, according to California Office of Traffic Safety statistics.

Examples of the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers include last summer in Anaheim when a teen-age driver was arrested in a drunken driving crash after speeding down a residential street in the early morning hours. The male driver, 18, lost control of his vehicle, police said, collided with another vehicle pulling into an apartment complex driveway. The other driver was pronounced dead at the crash scene.

Last July, a teen driver in Santa Ana was arrested for driving under the influence when he drove onto a sidewalk and hit two pedestrians. In all, two teen-age pedestrians and also two passengers were hurt.

In Poway, a female teen driver was killed when the Ford Focus she was driving crashed into a truck that had broken down at the side of the road. Her teen passenger was taken by air ambulance to a local hospital for treatment.

In preparation for the dangerous summer driving period, AAA encourages parents to educate their teens and themselves about risky driving behavior.

Story Date: July 9, 2018