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SALT LAKE CITY -- It's trauma season for teens. Experts say these summer months are the deadliest on the roads for teenagers, and they are at risk in other areas as well.
They call them the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers and passengers. It's the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when teens are mostly out of school and every day's like a Saturday -- free of responsibility and full of unsupervised hours.
According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 7,300 teen drivers and passengers 13 to 19 years old died in traffic crashes between the two holidays during the five-year period of 2005-2009.
"Parents should not underestimate the critical role they play in keeping their teens safe, especially during these high risk months," said Cynthia Harris, AAA Utah spokesperson, said in a statement.
AAA Utah's Rolayne Fairclough agrees and says parents have to set limits. She recommends writing driving contracts, outlining what is expected of the teen.
"Monitoring a teen's driving is just as critical to their life as anything else you've done, perhaps more critical," she said.
Fairclough says teen crash rates go on the rise if they're carrying young passengers.
"Teen crash rates increase with each teen passenger in the vehicle. Fatal crash rates for 16- to 19-year-olds increase fivefold when two or more teen passengers are present," she said.
The name "trauma season" comes from ER doctors, who say they're also prepared to see more teen boaters, swimmers, bikers, hikers and partiers this time every year.
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Story written with contributions from Mary Richards.
