AAA Colorado Offers Suggestions for After-School Parental Monitoring of Teen Drivers DENVER, Oct. 25 - New AAA Colorado analysis of crash data shows after-school hours rival weekend nights as the most deadly for teen drivers. The data reinforces the need for parents to be just as focused on monitoring their teens' afternoon driving as during the nights they've been conditioned to worry about. In analysis of national crash data, AAA Colorado found that nearly as many 16- and 17-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes between 3 and 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, as on Friday and Saturday nights between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. (Colorado law prohibits drivers younger than 18 from driving between midnight and 5 a.m.) Between 2002 and 2005, the national totals for fatal crashes were 1,100 and 1,237 respectively for the weekday and weekend periods. "Parents are right to encourage caution on the road during the high-risk hours, when Colorado's licensing program correctly limits teen driving," said AAA spokesman Eric Escudero. "But parents also need to be engaged in their teens' driving activities after school, when so many teens are on the road." "Many after-school teen trips - driving to part-time jobs, sports and other activities - are appropriate as teen drivers gain experience. Yet during these unstructured hours between the end of school and when parents get home from work, many teens behind the wheel do dangerous things in cars loaded with passengers." AAA Colorado also noted that during the afternoon there is heavier traffic on the roads, making driving more difficult for inexperienced drivers and less forgiving when they make mistakes. Currently, Colorado has a graduated driver-licensing system that limits night driving for new teen drivers, and the number of teen passengers for a new driver. AAA Colorado says parents can play a key role in going beyond state laws by being just as diligent in monitoring their teen's afternoon driving as they would be on a Friday or Saturday night. AAA Colorado recommends that parents do the following:
AAA Colorado reaches one in four households in the state and is an advocate for safety and security for all travelers. As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides its nearly 49 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services, as well as member-exclusive savings. ###
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