United Tire and Service News

When spring comes to Pennsylvania, it can mean only one thing — it's prom season for high school students all over. This is a cherished rite of passage for teens, as well as a chance to dress to the nines and party with their friends.

 

But parents are often fraught with worry when their teenagers head out with friends for this night of revelry. They realize that many dangers lurk for unwary teens on prom night, including the perils of distracted driving.

 

Most teenagers understand that texting while driving is a deadly distraction. Many get that any cellphone interactions distract drivers from the task at hand. But fewer realize that the common things drivers do behind the wheel, e.g., eating, drinking, applying lipstick, fiddling with the radio and even chatting with friends are all potentially distracting activities for drivers.

 

All the above — and more — can contribute to driver errors and cause serious accidents. All take either the driver's eyes, hands or mind away from driving. Texting and interacting with your phone is often the most dangerous because it requires all three body parts — eyes, mind and hands — to read and send texts.

 

According to research done by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in 2017, younger drivers are the most likely of all drivers to read texts behind the wheel. They were also more than twice as likely to send messages while driving. Clearly, all younger drivers haven't gotten the safety message.

 

But it's not just blatant safety violations that increase the danger of accidents on prom night. Youthful exuberance in a car full of teens on their way to prom is both potent and heady. They've got the music cranked up loud, they're singing along and high-fiving friends in the back seat. Distractions abound from all directions.

 

Parents do have a role in keeping their kids from driving with distractions on prom night and every night. The best way to do this is to lead by example. Moms and Dads should follow safety rules and avoid cellphone usage and other distractions as they're tooling down the road. Then, make sure that your teens grasp the real danger they face from distracted driving, both as a passenger and a driver. Parents might also want to limit the number of passengers their young drivers can have.

 

You may also want to consider pooling your resources with other parents and hiring a professional driver with a limousine or party bus to take groups of teens to the dance and out for dinner. That way, you will have peace of mind knowing that your child isn't driving or riding with another inexperienced young driver on a night when there will be countless teens out cruising around the Philadelphia suburbs.

 

This Prom Season we're asking all student drivers to take the pledge to Drive United. This means pledging to drive safely and keep away from dangerous driving habits and distractions. According to the National Highway Traffic Association, auto accidents are the number 1 cause of death for young people between the ages of 12 and 19. The accidents increase between the months of April and July. We want to make sure that all of our drivers, and especially our youngest drivers are as safe as possible on this special night.