Accident with an Inexperienced Driver?

Driving is an immense responsibility, and when we buckle up behind the wheels of our vehicles, we acknowledge this responsibility and drive accordingly. Unfortunately, not every driver on the road shares our experience and knowledge. In fact, inexperienced drivers, including teen drivers, are among the most dangerous drivers on our roadways.If an inexperienced driver has injured you or someone you care about, you need experienced legal counsel now. Car accidents often lead to serious injuries and extensive expenses—and the emotional consequences may compound them. The compensation you deserve for your losses is far too important to leave to chance or to the greed of an insurance company! The dedicated car accident lawyers at Trust Guss Injury Lawyers, have experience, skill, and knowledge. We won’t back down against insurance companies when our clients are fighting to get by after an accident left them with a pile of medical bills. We are open, for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or contact us now by CLICKING HERE.

Teen Drivers: The Statistics

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shares that teen drivers who are between 16 and 17 years old are three times more likely than adult drivers to be involved in car accidents that lead to fatalities. In fact, AAA shares a variety of alarming statistics related to these inexperienced teen drivers:

• They are 3.9 times more likely to be involved in traffic accidents—as compared to drivers who are 18 and older.
• They are 2.6 times more likely to be involved in fatal traffic accidents—as compared to drivers who are 18 and older.
• They are 4.5 times more likely to be involved in traffic accidents—as compared to drivers who are ages 30 to 59.
• They are 3.2 times more likely to be involved in fatal traffic accidents—as compared to drivers who are ages 30 to 59.

What’s more, the number of teen car crashes is on the rise. It’s a fact—inexperienced teen drivers are more dangerous and cause more deadly accidents than older, more experienced motorists do.

Contributing Factors

AAA reports on three important factors that contribute to the deadly car crashes caused by inexperienced teen motorists:

1. Distracted driving. Distracted driving is a major component of car accidents in general, and when it comes to teen drivers, the issue of distraction is that teens and their smartphones just seem to go together—they grew up together, after all. Smartphone interaction—for obvious reasons—is one of the deadliest distractions out there, but teen drivers are also far more likely to become distracted by passengers in their cars than more experienced drivers. In fact, almost six in 10 car accidents caused by teen drivers involve distracted driving—this is four times the official estimate for accidents overall.
2. Speeding. Speeding is always dangerous, but teenage drivers are especially prone to this poor driving choice. AAA cites speeding as among the worst errors that new teen drivers make. Speeding is a factor in almost a third of all fatal traffic accidents involving teen drivers.
3. Failing to buckle up. Teens who make it a habit to buckle up behind the wheel significantly reduce their odds of becoming traffic fatalities. AAA shares data from 2016, which supports the statistic that a full 60 percent of teen driver fatalities weren’t wearing seatbelts.

Teen drivers don’t just lack experience—they’re also more impulsive (being teenagers and all). Inexperienced drivers are more dangerous drivers. Don’t forget that you share the road with inexperienced drivers, and always make arriving alive your top priority.

Inexperience and Focus

Driving safely is a complex activity that requires drivers to remain aware of multiple factors at once. Inexperienced drivers, like teen drivers, are less accustomed to scanning the roadway for dangers that could potentially arise. Instead, inexperienced drivers tend to focus on what’s directly ahead of them—instead of on the traffic all around them. Often, danger lurks in the drivers who are speeding up on us, who tailgate, and who drive in our blind spots or hover next to us on the road. Scanning the entire roadway is a more complicated endeavor than simply watching for what’s in the windshield ahead of us, and it takes driving experience to get it right.

Inexperience Comes at a Price

Further, inexperienced drivers are more likely to let other drivers on the road intimidate them into speeding or otherwise driving rashly. An experienced driver will maintain a safe speed and allow a speeding driver behind him or her to overtake the vehicle—instead of picking up his or her own speed to remain in sync with the other driver. Inexperienced drivers also often lack the judgment (borne of lots of hours behind the wheel) to gauge the speed of an approaching vehicle, to understand the dangers inherent to driving near 18-wheelers, to recognizing upcoming traffic slowdowns, and much more.Inexperienced drivers are also more likely to overcorrect when a sudden change in driving pattern is necessitated, including for dangerous road conditions caused by inclement weather, for an aggressive driver, for accidents on the road, for road construction, and for everything else that experienced drivers know can pop up at any moment.

Your Car Accident Claim

If an inexperienced driver has left you injured, you’ve probably suffered property damage to your vehicle and medical expenses for your injuries. It rarely stops there, however; you’ve probably also lost hours and wages on the job, and if your injuries are serious, you may even experience a diminished earning capacity into your future. Finally, car accidents are traumatic, and you should never underestimate their emotional consequences. All told, your car accident claim is likely to be extensive—seek experienced legal counsel.

If an Inexperienced Driver Injured You, Contact Our Car Accident Law Firm Today

If an inexperienced driver left you injured, the dedicated car accident legal team at Trust Guss Injury Lawyers, is here to help.Our nationally recognized legal team has protected the rights of car accident victims for more than 20 years. Because we take all of our personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, you will not owe us a DIME unless we win your case. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so call us today at 800-898-4877 or contact us now by CLICKING HERE to schedule an evaluation of your case.