Preparing your teen for the road during 100 Deadliest Days of Summer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- (KRDO) - Colorado Students Against Destructive Decisions, also known as SADD, says the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day are the '100 deadliest Days' of the year for young teen drivers. Now, the organization is working with parents on how to teach their teens to stay safe.
According to SADD, they typically see a sharp increase in fatal car crashes involving teen drivers during the summer months.
The Colorado Department of Transportation says just this year, 32 drivers between the ages 15 and 24 have died in car fatalities.
For parents training their teen to get on the road for the first time, it can be stressful even when following all the rules the basic rules of wearing a seatbelt and ensuring one is driving below the speed limit.
"Driving is one of the riskiest things we do every day, we do it so often that we don't really consider the risks," said Kerry Ferguson, the SADD Colorado coordinator. "We don't want to lose any more students, that is a parent's worst nightmare."
During her time at SAAD, she told KRDO she's witnessed plenty of reckless teen driving, accidents, and fatalities that could've been prevented.
"El Paso County, in particular, tends to be number one, we tend to be the top slot on fatalities for teens and adults, that's throughout the year, but it increases during the summer months," said Ferguson.
She recommends parents should teach their children the importance of wearing a seatbelt, driving at or below the speed limit, and driving the way they want their kids to.
"Model the behavior that you want to see in your young person, following speed limits and wearing your seatbelt is a huge, huge one," said Ferguson.
For more on how students can apply for scholarships through SADD click here. Students have to be part of the organization to apply.
Colorado students can join SADD for free. Youth groups and schools are also able to start a SADD chapter and offer programming and activities to their students.
Find out more about Students Against Destructive Decisions by visiting https://co.sadd.org. Students wishing to become members of SADD now or wanting to learn more may contact Colorado SADD State Coordinator, Kerry Ferguson at kferguson@sadd.org.
