The Wyandot County Safe Communities Coalition and local law enforcement agencies are asking parents to stress traffic safety as their children attend homecoming events.
Traffic crashes are a leading cause of death for teens in the United States. Teens have less driving experience to keep themselves and their passengers safe and are prone to making risky driving decisions.
Often, parents underestimate the influence they have on their teen’s behavior, especially when they drive. Setting firm rules with real consequences may be the difference in getting teens home safe at the end of the night. The most basic rules parents should reinforce include:
- Everyone buckles up before the vehicle moves: Seat belt use is lowest among teen drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a majority of teenagers involved in fatal crashes are unbuckled.
- Never drive impaired or ride with an impaired driver: Even though it is illegal to drink or use marijuana under the age of 21 in Ohio, data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol shows 11% of all teen-related serious injury and fatal crashes involved a driver who was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol in 2024. Alcohol, marijuana, and even some prescribed drugs affect a person’s ability to get themselves and their passengers home safely.
- Eyes stay on the road; hands stay on the wheel; focus stays on driving: We tend to associate distracted driving with cell phone use, but adjusting music or GPS, staring off into space, eating or drinking, and talking with friends and family can all be deadly distractions too. Talk about the consequences of distracted driving. Educate teen passengers about supporting the driver in paying attention to the road. Make yourself and your teen aware of Ohio’s penalties for distracted driving at: PhonesDown.Ohio.gov.
- Speed limits are the law, not suggestions: Nationwide, young drivers are more likely to have been speeding at the time of a fatal crash than any other age group according to 2023 data from NHTSA. Remind teens that speeding reduces reaction times to the unexpected and endangers the driver, passengers, and everyone else on the road. Teach teens that changing road conditions (weather, road repair, or poorly lit areas at night) may require driving slower than the limit to maintain a safe speed.
Parents should remember probationary drivers license rules prohibiting drivers aged 17 and younger from transporting more than one non-family member. Remind young drivers of nighttime driving restrictions from midnight to 6 a.m.
Driving is one of the most dangerous things a teen can do and is a leading cause of death for teenagers. Reinforce these driving rules to ensure a safe Homecoming season. For additional resources related to safe teen driving follow @WyandotHealth on social media.
