SHREVEPORT, La (KTAL/KMSS) — Summer break for students is upon us, which means more teen drivers are out on the roads. Every year, the increase in young drivers also comes with an increase in accidents.
Memorial Day through Labor Day is considered the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer.” Louisiana State Trooper Jonathan Odom says young drivers must pay attention to the roads.

“We’ve noticed a trend that there are more crashes involving young drivers, more fatal crashes involving young drivers between the ages of 15 and 18 years old, “said Odom.

Now that school is out, students have more time to venture out on the roads. He says peer pressure among young drivers often leads to decisions that could have serious consequences. Those include driving impaired, texting while driving, and being aggressive drivers. Odom expressed how one second can cause a deadly accident.

“Just that split second that you take your eyes off the road to look down at your phone or to talk to another occupant in your vehicle that could make it difficult for you to notice another motorist coming into your lane or a pedestrian stepping into your travel lane.”

100 Deadliest Days of Summer also includes motorcycles on the roads. Now that warmer temperatures have arrived, Odom says motorcyclists will appear more often.

“They might be in your blind spots. So, take that extra glance around you whenever you’re driving; and then also, when you’re following them so closely, because as motorcycles approach an intersection, then sometimes they may downshift instead of using breaks, so you might not see the brake lights until they are almost at a complete stop.”

He says one of the ways to reduce the number of accidents during the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer includes parents setting a good example on the roads for their kids.