Dear Friends,

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and young adults. This age group has the highest crash risk than any other age group.

Lack of experience and risk taking that are characteristics of teenagers and young people are the main culprits for this disaster.

In the United States alone, each year 5,000 teenagers of driving age, die in crashes. Almost two out of three teenagers who are passengers and die in car accidents, are in cars driven by teen drivers. Is there a way to avoid this hecatomb?

The parents, the schools and the society in general have to take measures to limit this unfortunate reality. There are many things that can be done in order to minimize the number of accidents that are fatal or causing serious permanent injury and disabilities to young people and destroying their lives.

Providing young people better training, allowing them to have more experience through more driving hours with the company of experienced adult drivers, restricting passengers, avoiding night driving, avoiding alcohol and other drugs when driving, insisting on belt use, providing them with better and more safe cars, educating them to avoid road rage or speeding, continuous monitoring during the first yeas of driving, are among the measures that can contribute to minimize the death toll of teenagers on the road.

Insuring a teen driver is mandatory even if this implies additional costs for the family. Driving is privilege and big responsibility. How well the teenager or young driver will respect the privilege of driving is a factor that parents can influence.

Setting the hours that the young driver can and cannot drive, the persons allowed or not allowed in the car at one time and the number of miles allowed to drive per day or per week are rules that have to be set up in order to maximize security.

In the article accompanying the 13th Progressive Newsletter you will find more interesting and useful information about  Teen and young adult drivers

With these thoughts in mind I encourage you to take measures for people in your family, relatives or friends in order to increase our awareness and precautions for the serious and tragic problem of lost young lives because of car accidents.

Many deaths of this sort can be avoided. We can change this.The tragic families of teenagers and young people killed in preventable traffic crashes wholeheartedly remind us that this should stop and that they themselves wouldn't like to see other families in the same dramatic situation.

Takis A. Haggiandreou
Director

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Young people are more prone to risk taking. Peers influence, speeding, omitting wearing safety belts, driving after drinking or using drugs, increase dramatically the chances of a fatal crash.

Our Quote:

"A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends. "

Baltasar Gracian