Accident prevention: The 100 deadliest days for teens | PEMCO

You’ve probably already heard it before….being a teen driver is dangerous. Especially during the summer months. The combination of driving inexperience,  phones, and rowdy teen passengers can make for a pretty toxic cocktail or distracted driving. 

The 100 Deadliest Days was a phrase coined to describe the period of time in between Memorial Day and Labor Day when teens are more likely to get in a fatal crash. It’s not fun to think about…but it’s important you know how you can reduce your risk. 
 
If you remember only one thing from this article, it’s this: 
 
The number of teen passengers in your car is directly related to your risk of a crash. Let that sink in. 

The National Safety Council (NSC) says having a young passenger in the car increases a teen driver’s fatal crash risk by 44%. A classic study from AAA used dashcam footage to analyze the moments before teen crashes and uncovered these top distractors: 15% of teen drivers engaged in loud or rowdy conversations, 12% used their phones, and 11% looked at or fiddled with something in the car.   

It’s time to shift your love of prevention into high gear! (And if you’re not crazy about prevention yet…it’s never too late to start!) 

Why is summer so dangerous for teen drivers?  

You’d think our warmer months, with long daylight hours and mostly dry pavement, would be the safest for any driver. But summer also brings unexpected challenges. Seasonal events like prom, graduations, get-togethers with friends, and adventures on narrow rural roads all test the skills of new drivers. (Yes, we know those cruises are fun, but they aren’t always safe.) 

Teens are 17% more likely to be involved in a fatal crash during the 100 Deadliest Days than at other times of the year, according to AAA. That’s a scary bump when you consider that NSC data shows teens make up only 3.6% of drivers on the road yet account for 9.1% of all crashes and 6.1% of fatal crashes. Are you ready to take the next step?   

How can you practice “prevention” with safe driving? 

We recommend “layering” strategies to keep you and your friends as safe as possible on the road, especially during the more dangerous summer months. First, start with following the teen driving laws in your state (here’s a review of restrictions in Washington and Oregon). Then, consider these suggestions to take your risk reduction to the next level. 

1. Limit teen passengers. State laws don’t allow young passengers (other than family) during the first six months of licensing. After that, the number jumps to three. As “uncool” as it may be, consider making your own “house rules” to extend to modify the ban. For example, you could limit having friends in your car to specific, predictable trips like carpooling home from sports practice.  

2. Keep wireless devices turned off. State laws are clear – no wireless devices, even hands-free, until age 18. Extend that to include your car’s infotainment systems. We recommend you always program your navigation routes and set up music choices before leaving your driveway. 

3. Drive competent. This means agreeing to put down the keys whenever you can’t devote 100% of your attention to the road. No driving when tired, angry, crying, sick, stressed, distracted, or under the influence of any substance – whether that’s booze, marijuana, or even a sedating allergy medication.   
    
   As a backup, create a teen rideshare account (like this one from Uber) that has extra safeguards for young passengers. Sadly, in a 2022 AAA teen survey, 82% of teens said their friends would risk driving impaired rather than calling for a ride for fear of getting in trouble. Yikes. 

4. Limit night driving. Teen licensing laws vary slightly between Washington and Oregon, but the intent is clear: Night driving exposes younger drivers to unnecessary risks and challenges. Twenty percent of teen driving fatalities happen between 9 p.m. and midnight, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 

          Consider setting a driving curfew, like not driving after 10 p.m. 

Utilize PEMCODOMETER to help encourage safe driving  

“Slow down!” “Brake!” “Move over!” are probably pretty annoying when coming from your mom, dad, or other guardian. But an impartial digital observer (running silently in the background on  your phone) may be able to say the things they can’t…And we have just the tool!  

PEMCO offers PEMCODOMETER My Driving Discount on the Go PEMCO app to potentially earn customers a discount on their auto insurance, as a "reward" for their safe driving.

And now, for the love of prevention, we’re encouraging parents and young drivers to set up PEMCODOMETER as an additional tool to help encourage safe driving. 

How PEMCODOMETER works  

Because PEMCODOMETER is part of the Go PEMCO app, there’s nothing to plug into your car. Just set it up on the phones of each driver in your household who wants to participate.  

The app silently runs in the background for 91 days using your smartphone’s GPS to monitor your car’s location and motion. It senses things like tapping on or moving the phone when you drive, excessive speeding, and making smooth starts and stops. It maps drives within the 91 day monitoring period and marks instances (like hard braking) where your driving could be even safer. PEMCODOMETER automatically stops monitoring after the 91st day.  

Every driver in your household who tries it gets a temporary discount when they sign up, which extends through the monitoring period. And if, like thousands of members, you “score” high enough during those 91 days, you’ll get a personalized My Driving Discount, which earns drivers an average of 10% savings on their auto insurance. 
 
Consider it a personal challenge. Is your driving “safe” enough to earn you a discount?  

To get started, all you need is a pemco.com account, the Go PEMCO app for iOS or Android, and the GPS features already on your phone. Here are more details, FAQs, and quick videos to show how PEMCODOMETER works and how to set it up in the Go PEMCO app.   

We’re all in on prevention because we’re all in on you       

Using PEMCODOMETER is a great way to make sure you aren’t using any “lazy” driving habits, and it’s a great refresher for parents, too. 

We get it: Driving offers a whole new level of independence and fun. It’s a great feeling to not need to depend on someone else to get you from point A to point B. However, driving is risky, especially when you’re a teenager. 
 
We’re honored to help you reduce your risk so you can enjoy summer, live life to the fullest, and also reduce your risk of a tragic accident. 

If you or your parents have questions about PEMCODOMETER, they can give us a call at 1-800-GO-PEMCO or call their local PEMCO agent.