Most teenagers cannot wait to get their driver’s licenses and get behind the wheel. It is a right of passage, of sorts. However, numerous parents in Ohio have been getting the phone calls that they have been dreading. Their children have been involved in car accidents and have suffered or caused personal injury — or worse.
According to a recent report, the state of Ohio saw just over 140,000 auto collisions involving teenagers over the past three years. Teenagers are said to only account for 5 percent of the state’s registered drivers. While this may be a small number, they are involved in approximately 15 percent of the car wrecks.
Why is it so bad? A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation says it has to do with how teenagers make decisions while driving. Some are not able to easily recognize hazards, some underestimate dangerous road conditions, and all simply lack experience. While adults may not always make the best decisions while driving either, they have more time driving under their belts, so they may react better to certain situations, allowing them to avoid more accidents.
Those who have suffered personal injury or lost loved ones in these youth-involved accidents may be entitled to seek compensation for their losses. It all really depends on why the collisions occurred and if the drivers deemed responsible were believed to have been negligent in their actions. If negligence can be successfully established in court, victims or — in the event of fatality — their surviving family members may ultimately be awarded monetary judgments for any damages sustained that are considered legally recoverable according to the state of Ohio.
Source: daytondailynews.com, “Warren County teens ranked No. 2 in Ohio for most crashes“, Lawrence Budd, Oct. 19, 2017