In July, a recent Naperville Central High graduate died after barrelling through an intersection and crashing into a neighbor's birch tree. That same month, a 19-year-old Illinois National Guard member died after driving off the road and into a ditch. In each of these Illinois automobile crash fatalities, the motor vehicles were driven by teenagers who were not wearing their seat belts.
Car accidents are the leading cause of teenage deaths. An estimated 5,000 teens between the ages of 16 and 20 die each year in car accidents. 400,000 of teens in that age group will be seriously injured. In addition to the deaths caused by distracted and drunk driving accidents, experts believe a significant threat to teen lives is due to their failure to wear seatbelts.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), teen drivers are the least likely to wear seat belts. In 2005, the CDC reported that 77 percent of teens killed in traffic accidents were not wearing seat belts, compared to 29 percent who had been drinking while driving. With traffic crashes being the leading cause of death for this age group, careful consideration needs to be given to this reality.
Teens are not exempt from the Illinois law requiring each motor vehicle operator-even those under the age of 18-and their front seat passengers to wear properly adjusted and fastened seat belts. Violators of the state's seat belt law are subject to being stopped and fined. While the fines generally start at $25, additional court costs and processing fees add up for this petty offense. For teens, it isn't the fine that should scare them. The real threat is the danger to their lives.
Three years ago, Illinois initiated a graduated driver licensing (GDL) law, which provides a series of gateways that teen drivers must pass before receiving moving onto the next licensing phase. Some of the restrictions for 16-17 year-olds include:
•· A minimum number of 50 hours of practice driving and 10 hours of driving at night
•· Non-relative passengers in a car are limited to one person under the age of 20
•· Cell phone use is prohibited, except in the case of an emergency
•· Drivers must not have any driving convictions for six months prior to turning 18
A recent Chicago Tribune article reporting on the epidemic of teen driving deaths showed that the GDL has had some success. Teen deaths are dropping in states that use GDL. However, GDL only applies to drivers under the age of 18. First time drivers, 18 and over are dying in increasing numbers.
There are several schools of thought about the best way to address the problem of teen motor vehicle accidents in Chicago. Some believe that public safety efforts such as Teen Driver Safety Week programs and parent-teen driving contracts can help save teen lives, but most experts agree that education is likely to have minimal effect.
The Insurance Institute for Highway safety advocates for tougher laws that would extend the age of GDL from 18 to 21 and change the minimal driving age from 16 to 17. New Jersey is an example of how such laws can help. They have had similar laws for several years and have drastically reduced the number of teen deaths. Expanding and enforcing similar driving restrictions in Illinois could have a significant impact on the survival of teens in Chicago.
The Illinois legislature has begun to take note. Their most recent effort is designed to protect people in the back seat. Effective January 1, 2012, anyone riding in the back seat of a vehicle must buckle up. As the Chicago Sun Times reported, individuals in the back seat not only suffer head, abdominal and chest trauma when in an accident, but they can also end up become projectiles themselves, causing injury and sometimes even killing other passengers in the vehicle.
