The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is raising awareness for National Teen Driver Safety Week, which runs October 18-24, 2026, according to a social media post from the agency. Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for teenagers aged 15 to 18.
The Sheriff’s Office highlighted several key risk factors for teen drivers: inexperience, speeding, distracted driving, low seat belt use, and alcohol or drug impairment. New drivers often misjudge hazards and make critical errors behind the wheel. Speeding is a factor in roughly one-third of fatal teen crashes, while distractions such as cell phones, texting and peer passengers pull attention from the road. More than half of teen drivers killed in crashes are unbuckled, and alcohol or drug impairment drastically raises the risk of a fatal crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration encourages parents to start the conversation with their teens about safe driving, set the standard by modeling safe driving behavior themselves, and put the ground rules in writing along with consequences for breaking them. Key rules include no phones while driving, limiting passengers, no speeding, no alcohol, no driving while tired, and always buckling up.
More information is available at nhtsa.gov.
