Connecticut Injury Attorney Blog

Connecticut observed Safe Teen Driving Awareness Week from December 4 through 10 with the theme of "How A Community Helps to Make Teens Safe Drivers." The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) released a Teen-Parent Driver Agreement, which it hopes will educate teens and families about the risks teenagers in particular face on the roads. The Agreement will be included in the driver's manual distributed in teen drivers' education programs. DMV Commissioner Melody A. Currey remarked that she hopes the agreement "gives communities as well as parents and teens a good starting point for discussions about safety."

Safe Teen Driving Awareness Week began several years ago with support from !MPACT, an organization of friends and families of teenagers who died in automobile accidents, more formally known as Mourning Parents Act, Inc. It is observed every year in early December and features campaigns for educating teens and families about driving safety, as well as advocacy for stronger regulations of teen driving education programs. It specifically targets 16- and 17-year-olds, for whom automobile accidents are the leading cause of death in Connecticut. The DMV also co-sponsors an annual video competition inviting videos that spotlight community efforts to promote safe driving and prevent crashes and injuries.

The "Teen-Parent Driver Agreement" is the centerpiece of the campaign, aimed at encouraging communication between teens and their parents or guardians about driving safety and the particular risks teens face on the road. It includes checklists of safety risks, obligations of supervising adults, and obligations of teen drivers for teens and adults to review together, such as:

- Adults should serve as role models by driving responsibly themselves.
- Adults should give teens a ride whenever possible to avoid dangerous driving situations.
- Taking and passing a driving course does not guarantee that a teen is a safe driver.
- Violating state driving laws puts people, including the driver, at risk of injury and worse.
- Teens will wear seatbelts and refrain from using electronic communications devices, such as cell phones, while driving.
- Teens will not drive while fatigued or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- Teens will obey curfews and rules pertaining to the number of passengers allowed in the car.

The agreement also includes clauses pertaining to responsibility for gas and maintenance expenses, as well as suspension of driving privileges for violating any of the teen obligations.