As lawmakers and parents in Texas and around the country wage a war on distracted driving, many people have begun to equate texting behind the wheel with car accidents involving teenagers. As such, there has been an influx of education and legislation aimed at warning teens of the dangers of sending texts or e-mails while they are driving. However, these campaigns are forgetting that there are several other factors to blame for car accidents involving teenage drivers, namely, inexperience on the roads.

In a study of 795 car accidents that involved teen drivers, more than 75 percent were found to be cause by driver error, rather than distraction, aggression, or impairment. The study was conducted using a nationwide database of car accident information.

In all of the cases studied, three main types of driving errors were most commonly reported. These errors were driver distraction from things within and outside of the vehicle, failure to properly assess and recognize other vehicles or hazards on the road, and failure to adjust speed for adverse weather conditions. One example of a common error was the failure to sufficiently scan before making a left-hand turn, and subsequently hitting a vehicle in the other lane.

The results of this study can be useful to young drivers and their families. Parents are advised to work with their new drivers on the three aforementioned common errors. By teaching teens to appropriately scan the roadway for cars and other hazards, to reduce their speed for weather or traffic conditions, and to remove distractions from the driving environment, accident risks can be reduced significantly.

Source: U.S. News and World Report, "Driver Errors Explain Most Teen Crashes, Experts Say", Kathleen Doheny, 12 April 2011