'100 Deadliest Days of Summer': Teens more at risk for fatal car crashes

For many teenagers, getting behind the wheel means freedom, but driving instructors say it also comes with real risks.Memorial Day marked the beginning of the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer, a time when teenagers face a higher risk of being involved in a fatal car crash. “They need to be alert, and they need to remember that they are still young drivers," said Dayne Huval, owner of Southwest Safety Training. He said one of the dangers for new drivers is the feeling that nothing bad can happen to them.“So even though the chemical in your brain is making you feel invincible, you need to know that you’re not invincible, and that car can change your life. It can rob you of your future," Huval said. He added that when more teenagers pack into a vehicle, the risk of a fatal crash increases.However, he added that having one person over 21-years-old in the vehicle brings that risk down dramatically. Before your teenager walks out the door, he recommends parents take one simple step: talk through the route they will drive.“When my oldest started driving, we would go over the routes with them before they went out on the road,” Huval said. “He knew where the roundabouts were, he knew where the intersections were, and so he was able to focus more on traffic and not, ‘oh, I don’t know what this roundabout was going to be like.’”One of the simplest safety steps can also be one of the most important— wearing a seat belt correctly.“The seat belt needs to be flat, needs to be on your shoulder. The lap belt needs to be across the bony parts of your hip," Huval said. “That’s dangerous if you’re putting the seat belt, like, if you’re putting it under your arm because if you get in a crash and that seat belt is on your rib cage and not on your shoulder, it can break a rib, and that rib can go pierce organs. It can pierce your heart.”According to The National Road Safety Foundation, the risk of a teenager getting into a fatal crash decreases after Labor Day.