Study: nighttime driving top risk for teens

AUSTIN — Nighttime driving is the biggest factor in teenage car accidents, according to a study released Tuesday.

The problem could grow beginning this weekend when daylight-saving time ends and darkness falls one hour earlier in the day, said officials with the Texas Transportation Institute, which conducted the study.

In the United States, more than 6,000 teenagers die in car accidents each year.

Inexperience combined with nighttime driving, distractions, limited use of seat belts, speeding and alcohol, cause the accidents, according to the study. Researchers found nighttime driving tops the danger list.

“It’s new experiences for young drivers that are creating problems,” said Dennis Christiansen, director of the Texas Transportation Institute.

Most teenagers don’t know nighttime driving is a problem even though almost half say they routinely drive after 10 p.m.

Researchers surveyed more than 4,400 teenagers at 17 Texas high schools and found that less than 1 percent understood that driving at night is unsafe. By contrast, most teenagers know driving while drunk is dangerous even though it falls fifth on the list of risk factors.

To educate students, the institute has a program called Teens in the Driver Seat that recruits high school students to teach their peers about the dangers of driving.

Russell Henk, director of the program, said no Rio Grande Valley high school has signed up for the program, though he encourages them to join. Schools that participate don’t have to pay, Henk said.

The program operates with an annual $1 million budget, including $900,000 in state and federal funds. State Farm Insurance has agreed to contribute $100,000 each year for the next five years.

____

Elizabeth Pierson Hernandez covers the state capital for Valley Freedom Newspapers. She is based in Austin and can be reached at (512) 323-0622.