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Summertime means more teen crashes in California

In the 100 days between Memorial Day and the start of the new school year, teenage motor vehicle deaths increase by 16 percent. On average, 1,022 people have died after crashes involving teenage drivers during this time of the year from 2009 to 2014, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The majority of crashes, 58.5 percent, occur because of distracted driving.

Among the most common forms of distraction were talking on or operating a cell phone, talking to someone in the car or looking for something in the vehicle. As cell phones become more sophisticated, teens have shown a propensity to use them on a daily basis. Data from the Pew Research Center found that 55 percent of teens send texts each day and that the average teen sent roughly 80 texts per day.

The study further found that 92 percent of teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 had cell phones while nearly a quarter reported being online all the time. The NHTSA has found that cell phone use among drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 has increased from 1 percent to 4.8 percent between 2007 and 2014. According to a study done by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, texting while driving made it 23 times more likely a driver could get into a crash.

Those who have been hurt in a car accident may wish to talk with a personal injury attorney. It may be possible to hold the driver who caused the crash financially responsible for the accident. This is true if negligence on the part of the other driver led to the crash such as driving while drunk or while distracted. Compensation may help pay for medical bills and other damages after a crash.

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