Celebrate Safe, Drive Safe

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 10:00:00 -0500

With proms and graduations, the end of the school year is a celebratory time for high school students. Crashes are still the leading cause of death for teens*, State Farm is here to help teens and their parents stay safe on the road and beyond.

Check out the tips below for parents and teens. More information is on the State Farm Teen® Driver Safety website. Always encourage your teen to make positive choices while driving.

Parents

Connect with other parents - Speak directly with any parents supervising after-parties your teen will attend since some parents may allow underage drinking.
Talk about (not) drinking/doing drugs – According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), parents play an important role. Talk to your teen about dealing with peer pressure, the dangers/repercussions of underage drinking and driving, using illegal substances, and contacting you for a ride in situations involving drugs or alcohol.
Offer options for rides - If a group insists on traveling together to prom and numerous graduation parties, talk to other parents about hiring a limo. That way no one gets behind the wheel. If it’s not in the budget, offer to drive them yourself, or research other public transportation options in your community.
Have the party come to you - Plan your own, adult-supervised, drug/alcohol free after-party at your house, school or local community center.
Set the example - You can’t always be in the car, but you can keep safety top-of-mind by demonstrating and enforcing habits like wearing a seat belt, not using a cell phone while driving, following the speed limit and driving 2N2® - 2 eyes on the road, 2 hands on the wheel.

Teens

Groom before you zoom - Before it’s time to go, take one last look in the mirror and make sure you’re looking good so nothing takes your focus off the road while driving.
Get your beauty rest - Since many parties last until early morning, make sure you get plenty of sleep leading up to the big day, or ask your parents to pick you up so you and your friends don't have to drive while tired. Fatal car crashes involving teens happen significantly more at night.
Set limits - Put a limit on the number of friends you ride with. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the risk of fatal crashes increases with each passenger. And if riding with friends, remind them to put their phones away and turn the music down.
Drive Sober- Drinking before the age of 21 is illegal, and alcohol and driving should never mix no matter your age. This goes for using drugs and other illegal substances as well.
Seatbelts are the perfect accessory – A little wrinkle in your dress, tux or graduation gown is not a reason to go without a seat belt. Buckling your seatbelt can save your life and keep you from getting seriously injured. Plus, it’s the law!

Drinking Levels Among Youth

The Centers for Disease Control's 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found among high school students (during the 30 days prior to the survey):

33% drank some amount of alcohol.
18% binge drank.
8% drove after drinking alcohol.
20% rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.

* Source = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Deer meets Motorcycle

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:04:00 -0500

It was a clear, cold morning with the bluest sky. Cheryl Lee was on the back of the motorcycle her husband Jerry was driving. She recalls saying to him as they headed home through Kentucky, "God sure gave us a beautiful day to ride home.”

The pair had been on the two-lane county road about an hour. A pick-up truck, hauling a large tractor, pulled out from a side road in front of the couple. Jerry easily passed the slower moving vehicle and moved back into his lane. Neither Cheryl nor Jerry saw what was coming next.

“The bike immediately stopped and went up on its front wheel catapulting me onto the highway. I bounced down the road, stopped in the middle and crawled to the edge,” says Cheryl. “Jerry managed to stay on the bike and ended up in the ditch farther up the road.”

“We were running about 55 miles per hour. Just a slow, easy, relaxing pace. As we pulled back into our lane I heard a loud noise,” Cheryl recalls. “The next thing I remember I’m lying in a ditch with a man kneeling over me. He was calling 911. I thought we had blown a rear tire. I had no idea a deer was involved. I didn’t know where Jerry was. I knew I was hurt and I was scared for Jerry. I knew he had to be hurt as well.”

Neither Jerry nor Cheryl saw the deer, a young buck, killed instantly. “The driver we had just passed could see the deer down in the ravine, saw its head come up and knew what was going to happen next,” Cheryl shared.

Cheryl was unconscious for a few minutes and remembers waking up and seeing the blood pooling around her head and face. She remembers being really cold while lying on the side of the road, then saw and heard the person who was calling for help.

Cheryl was treated at a trauma center for a broken nose, deep facial cut, fractured wrist and thumb. Both Cheryl and Jerry were bruised and had road rash. The motorcycle was totaled and both helmets had to be replaced, which is recommended after any impact.

Since the crash Cheryl says “we try to be even more aware of our surroundings.” She suggests drivers, especially motorcycles, always be prepared. “Even a large rock in the road can take you down. A deep pothole, another vehicle or an animal of any size can cause a crash. You can be doing everything right and still, things can go very wrong!”

Cheryl rides to work daily, weather permitting, and she and Jerry enjoy day and weekend trips on their bikes and participate in charity rides.

“My world revolves around motorcycles,” says Cheryl. “I have years of scrapbooks documenting our travels, the places we’ve visited and people we’ve met, including pictures from what happened the day our motorcycle met a deer.”

Check out the state map showing the odds of hitting a deer based on State Farm claim data:

Good Neighbor Stories

Celebrate Safe, Drive Safe

Drinking Levels Among Youth

Deer meets Motorcycle