Many parents worry about the natural tendency of teenagers to feel invincible. This sense of invulnerability can entice teen drivers to take chances that they might avoid with more life experience, including speeding, texting and driving, street racing, drinking and driving and other high-risk driving practices. This sense of invincibility and the dangerous driving behavior it promotes is the reason that almost six hundred California teens and adults die in car accidents involving teen drivers each year.
The newest version of risk taking driving behavior that is becoming more popular among teen drivers is called “car-surfing”. The activity is every bit as reckless and dangerous as it sounds. Car surfing is a high-risk joyriding activity, mostly engaged in by teenagers and young adults, that involves standing on the exterior of a vehicle as it is moving.
While the practice may not be common, there are a growing number of teenagers engaging in this thrill seeking activity that are suffering brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and even wrongful death. It is presumed that the number of fatalities caused by car surfing and other high risk teenage driving behavior increases during the summer months when teenagers typically are given more driving freedom by their parents.
Although it might never occur to a parent to warn their kids about avoiding such high-risk driving practices, officials at the CDC indicate parents can sometimes prevent such car accident related injuries and fatalities by being aware of the activity and talking to their kids about the risk. Many kids presume that car surfing at low rates of speed is safe. However, this dangerous activity can result in fatal head injuries and brain damage even at rates of speed as slow as five mph.
While car surfing may be one of the more shocking forms of risk taking behavior that teenagers engage in this summer, there are many more. Common examples of high risk driving behavior that can cause catastrophic injury or wrongful death to teen drivers, passengers and occupants of other vehicles include:
- Leaning out of the window or sunroof of a moving vehicle
- Ingesting alcohol or drugs before driving
- Engaging in drag racing or other exhibitions of speed
- Being towed by a car while riding on a bike or skateboard
- “Ghost riding” which refers to a driver exiting through a vehicle window and dancing next to the vehicle as it continues to move
- Text messaging and driving
The prevalence of unsafe driving practices resulting in car accident related injuries can scarcely be overstated. Sixty-one percent of teen drivers admit to engaging in high-risk driving activity, such as speeding or tailgating. Drivers under the age of 20 have a 350 percent higher risk of being involved in a car accident than older more experienced drivers. This high-risk type behavior even extends to the decision not to use a seat belt. More than ten percent of high school students admit to not using a seat belt when traveling in the vehicle with another driver.
Contact Us For A Free Car Accident Consultation
If your teenager has been injured in a car accident or you or someone you love has been injured in a car accident involving a teen driver, our experienced San Francisco car accident attorneys provide aggressive representation to injury victims. It is important to act promptly because critical deadlines apply. We invite you to contact The Law Office of Ian Zimmerman for your free initial consultation with an experienced San Francisco car accident attorney. We are open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., speak Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, and are available for weekend, evening, home and hospital meetings and visits. We also offer free initial consultations and work exclusively on a contingency fee basis so that you pay nothing if we don’t win your case.