100 Deadliest Days of Summer How To Can Keep Your Teen Safe

Another summer is upon us and now that so many are vaccinated, many of us are making plans for vacations and summer fun. We Save Lives would like to remind you that we are entering the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer”, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. According to the CDC, teen drivers between the ages of 16-19 are three times more likely than drivers 20 and older to be involved in a deadly crash. Everyone is COVID tired and looking forward to a better summer. You may be thinking that now is the time to relax and plan for summer fun but IT IS NOT the time to relax while driving, especially for your teens. Just look at some of the facts: Motor Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens. Teens have the highest crash rate of any age group. An average 260 teens are killed in car crashes each month during the summer, an increase of 26% compared with the other months of the year. 60% of teen crashes today are caused by distracted driving. Surprisingly, the top distraction for teens is other passengers, accounting for 15% of teen driver crashes, compared to 12 % caused by texting or talking on a cell phone. “Not only are teens themselves more likely to die in car crashes, they also have the highest rates of crash involvement resulting in the deaths of others, including passengers, pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles.” – Newsday What does this mean for us as we watch our young people load up the car and drive off to their destination?

California Take Action! AB 2071 will award grants to qualifying law enforcement agencies, so that they have the tools necessary to inform the public about the dangers of distracted driving. Please email your letter of support to the Chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations, Chair Friedman to: approps.committee@assembly.ca.gov. Keep it short and simple. Here is a sample: Dear Chair Friedman: I/we/organization is/am writing to express support for AB 2071 (Patterson), which will allow the Office of Traffic Safety to administer a grant program to combat distracted driving. Thousands of lives are taken each year due to distracted driving and that one quick action on an individual’s phone risks not only their life, but those around them on the road who may be driving safely. AB 2071 will award grants to qualifying law enforcement agencies, so that they have the tools necessary to inform the public about the dangers of distracted driving. Please support AB2071! Thank you. Your name and your organization if you are representing one.

A Message from Candace We Save Lives supports AB2071 on behalf of our California members. Distracted driving is becoming way too acceptable and a major health crisis. It destroys families, and all because someone can't stay off their mobile devices while driving. Can you imagine anything simpler than focusing on your driving while navigating a two ton weapon? Yet, people are either too selfish or too oblivious to safety protocol to delay a conversation until they get to their destination. Just ask Terri Yost whose son Kevin was killed by a distracted driver in California.

On August 25th, 2019, Kevin became the victim of vehicular manslaughter. He was in a Lyft vehicle on his way to the Sacramento Airport to attend the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Conference in Portland. He was only 10 minutes from the airport when traffic came to a stop. The Lyft vehicle was hit from behind due to a distracted driver who took their eyes off the road and never noticed the traffic had stopped. The at-fault driver was driving a Chevy Tahoe and hit the Honda Lyft vehicle at 60-70 mph, killing Kevin, sending the Lyft driver to the ICU, and causing a 4-car pile-up. Learn what Kevin's mom, Terri Yost is doing to advocate for for her son.

Passengers can make a difference. They can save lives, especially their own. One Courageous Voice Can Stop One Deadly Choice Have the Courage To Intervene.

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