Weather conditions, distractions or critical errors: how are teen drivers doing on the road? 

In 2021, 2,116 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 died in traffic crashes, an 11% increase from 2020. 75% of accidents involving teen drivers are due to “critical errors,” the most common being “lack of scanning that is needed to detect and respond to hazards, going too fast for road conditions, and being distracted by something inside or outside of the vehicle,” stated by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Resource Center.

According to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), California receives 75% of its annual rainfall between Nov. and March, 21% of all car accidents in the U.S. are weather-related, and 42% of the time the cause of the accident is wet pavement. Last winter, several southern California regions received over double than normal rainfall averages. 

As the skies begin to cloud over once again, the probability of accidents occurring on the road will most likely begin to rise. Young drivers are faced not only with weather conditions that will impact the safety of the roads, but also a lack of experience behind the wheel. 

Emma Mackenzie ‘24 said, “I think that everyone is bound to get relaxed about driving at some point, but you have to stay aware and stay vigilant. All it takes is for one tiny mistake or to not pay attention once and then you have huge huge consequences to deal with, and that’s what happened with me.” 

“I hit a parked car at night in a parking lot. I barely tapped them [as] I was pulling out of a spot, but it still had huge consequences,” said Mackenzie. Mackenzie had had her license for over a year when she got into the accident. “The fact that it was dark and the car was black and in my blind spot totally affected [my driving],” said Mackenzie. 

VHS has a student parking lot where students are able to park during the school day if they have a parking permit on their vehicle. The student parking lot features long, diagonal parking spots, contrasted to linnear, straight-on and shorter length traditional parking spots. The student parking lot has witnessed vehicle theft, slashing tires and numerous car accidents. According to Maison Law, “16-year-old drivers have an accident rate that’s about 1.5 times higher than drivers who are 17 to 19 years old.”

Ariel Sanchez ‘25 said, “I got my license in July and in September I hit a parked tow truck in a Starbucks parking lot. It was parked to the left of me and when getting out I didn’t back up enough so I hit it straight on. I was at fault, but luckily there was only damage to my car so there were no claims filed. If I were to reverse a bit more it all would’ve been avoided.” 

“Traffic fatalities increased approximately 7.6% from 3,980 in 2020 to 4,285 in 2021,” according to the California Office of Traffic Safety. The leading cause of these accidents being speeding and impaired driving.