Set Your Teen Driver Up to Succeed

October 2020

by Rachel Wood, M.D., MPH, Lewis County Health Officer

October 18-24 is National Teen Driver Safety Week – a time to remember just how much our teens are at risk behind the wheel. While the number of teen deaths in car crashes has decreased slightly in recent years nationally, teen driver crashes are still robbing too many kids of their futures.

Believe it or not, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens (15-18 years old) in the United States, ahead of all other types of injury, disease, or violence. And sadly, it does happen right here in Lewis County. 220 crashes involving teen drivers were reported in Lewis County in 2019. Of those, 57 caused injuries, including one fatality.

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