Car crashes are a leading cause of injury and death for teens in America – even those who are not driving yet. If you are a Junior High student, you are also at very high risk each time you get into a vehicle, but there are things you should know and things you can do to protect yourself. But don’t stop with knowing the facts and keeping yourself safe – tell your friends too! That’s what Teens in the Driver Seat Junior High program is all about. We help you learn the facts, and you help spread the message to your family, your school, and your community, because the more we know and act, the safer we will all be!
The TDS program is available to junior high schools in Georgia, Nebraska, and Texas at no cost. We give you the science, guidance, and project resources to implement a successful program, the rest is up to you to create and sustain an awesome program at your school.
The Facts:
- Every other day in the U.S. there has been at least one passenger from the ages of 9 to 12 that dies in a car crash since 2010¹.
- In 2017, over half of all young passengers who died in crashes were not buckled up¹.
- Studies show that junior high teens are almost 2 times more likely to wear seat belts when adults in the car are also wearing them.
- Safety experts recommend that teens under the age of 13 always ride in the back seat.
- Research shows that children involved in car crashes are 28% more likely to be injured in a front seat than if they had been sitting in the back.
- The front seat presents two dangers to junior high teens:
- They can be badly hurt or killed if they are too close to the dashboard when the airbag deploys.
- They are more likely to be hurt in a crash, because most wrecks involve the front end of the vehicle.
- Teen drivers significantly impact young passengers:
- Teen drivers are 2 times more likely to have children in the front seat than adult drivers.
- Novice teen drivers are 3 times more likely to have unrestrained child passengers than adult drivers.
- Young teens riding with drivers aged 16 to 19 are 3 times more likely to die in a crash than if riding with a driver age 20 and older.
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