Can you remember those first weeks and months you had a driver’s license? More than likely, you experienced a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Perhaps you didn’t quite understand the responsibility you took on at that point, but eventually, you did.
You may logically know that everyone has to learn from personal experience how to drive. Understanding the capabilities of a vehicle under different circumstances takes time. Teenagers may understand the theory behind operating a motor vehicle, but they usually have little practical experience.
What other factors make teen drivers dangerous?
Teenagers’ inexperience puts you and others on the Clarksville-area roads in danger, but when mixed with other circumstances, the danger only rises. Some of those factors include the following:
- Since teen drivers underestimate the capabilities of a vehicle, they tend to drive faster than they should. Speeding results in no less than one-third of the accidents in which teens die.
- Texting while driving is dangerous for any driver, but when coupled with inexperience, it becomes a deadly combination.
- Some teens drive after either drinking or doing drugs, which makes them just as dangerous as anyone else doing so.
- It’s also dangerous to use phone apps while driving. Even using some sort of GPS app creates an additional and unnecessary danger.
- Most states do not allow teenagers to drive between certain hours, including the overnight hours. Driving in the daytime is enough of a challenge, so doing so after dark increases the potential for mistakes that lead to crashes.
- Passengers under the age of 21 present a significant distraction. Even one such passenger increases the chance of an accident involving a teen driver by around 44%, and it doubles that with additional teen passengers.
You have no way of knowing whether you share the road with an inexperienced teenage driver who also engages in one or more of the dangerous behaviors listed above. By the time you do realize it, it could be too late. If you suffer serious injuries in a crash involving a teen driver, you could experience substantial financial losses during your recovery. Even with insurance, medical care costs money, and if you cannot work, your ability to pay those bills diminishes.
Tennessee law provides you an avenue to pursue the compensation you deserve. It isn’t necessary for the at fault party to face criminal charges in order to take advantage of the civil court process.