It's time to think safe teen driving

It is the heart of the springtime, that time of year when teenage thoughts are supposed to be turning to a host of romantic pursuits. To prom. To graduation. To the joys of the summer ahead.

Unfortunately - witness the Winnetka hit-and-run crash last Friday that landed one New Trier student in jail and another in the hospital in critical condition - that means they too often fail to focus on the demands of safe driving.

Tomorrow, May 20, is the deadliest day of the year for teenagers, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and the Memorial Day holiday will bring the third most deadly holiday period of the year for teenage drivers.

If ever there is a time for teenagers and their parents to put safe driving at the forefront of their thinking, it is now. The insurance industry identifies motor vehicle crashes as America's No. 1 killer of teenagers, who die at the rate of 11 a day in traffic accidents across the country. In Illinois, crashes involving teens have claimed 1,225 lives in the past five years, the research shows.

Of course, just thinking about these numbers won't by itself make teens safer. That requires action as well. And, fortunately, there are actions that can actually have an impact.

For starters, Northbrook-based Allstate Insurance recommends that parents initiate a conversation with their young drivers about the habits of safe driving, setting guidelines along with consequences for violating them.

Researchers call traffic laws a powerful force in protecting teens on the road, but emphasize the role of parents. The highway safety survey found that just 41 percent of boys - and only 31 percent of girls - said their parents reinforced highway laws. Parents need to make sure their kids know the laws and then that they obey them.

Of course, the avoidance of alcohol must be part of the teen-parent conversation, but so should the avoidance of texting. With as many as 82 percent of teenagers reporting they use cell phones while driving, Allstate says texting is their biggest distraction.

In connection with both those habits, and the issue of driving in general, teens also have to stand up for themselves more. The highway safety institute found that more than 60 percent of teen deaths on the roadways occur in vehicles driven by another teen. Yet, an Allstate Foundation study found more than 75 percent of teens admit to feeling unsafe with another teen's driving but less than 60 percent are willing to say something in risky situations.

In the past two years, Illinois has done much to make teen driving safer - with graduated limits on the number of passengers they can carry, stricter curfews and other measures. Now is a good time for parents and young people to dedicate themselves to making these measures work.

Spring is a wonderful time to be young and to think about the pleasures of new warmth and freedom. Bit it's also important for teens to remember they may not be enjoying those pleasures if they don't think about safe driving first.