Kansas Highway Patrol shining light on National Teen Driver Safety Week

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) - National Teen Driver Safety Week begins Sunday and the Kansas Highway Patrol is alerting Kansans to its importance.

In a tweet from the KHP, Kansans were encouraged to remind their teenagers of basic safety measures like wearing a seatbelt, limiting passengers and avoiding texting and driving.

Make sure to take time this week to remind your teens of the importance of being a safe driver! By always wearing their seat belts, following speed limits, and limiting distractions, we can collectively make our Kansas roadways a safer place! #TeenDriverSafetyWeek pic.twitter.com/k52malaZMH
— KS Highway Patrol (@kshighwaypatrol) October 16, 2022

AutoInsurance.com released a study regarding teens distracted driving in 2022, finding that a survey of teens found 45 percent of them texted or emailed while behind the wheel in just the last week.

The study also found that nine-in-10 adults ages 18-to-24 talk on the phone while driving, while eight-in-10 write, send or read text messages while on the move. Among the sobering statistics is that 15-to-20-year-olds are 33 percent more likely to die in crashes related to distracted driving in comparison to the national average across all age groups.