LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – With the Fourth of July holiday approaching, the number of people traveling will also increase. Unfortunately, the number of injuries and fatalities due to traffic accidents also increase, especially with teen drivers.

This is sometimes referred to as the ‘100 deadliest days of summer’ when an increase in teen drivers leads to more fatal crashes. Ron Czajkowski, Safety Coordinator for the Acadiana region of Destination Zero Deaths, provides his insight on the importance of safety awareness for young teens.

“We see an increase in serious injuries and fatal crashes during this time of year involving young teen drivers,”Czajkowski said. “We’d like to change the deadliest to the safest. We need young drivers to make better choices, good choices, when they’re driving.”

He said to reverse the trend, which is the goal of Destination Zero Deaths, a three-pronged approach will be needed. Parents talking to their teenagers comes first.

“Talk about the issue with distracted driving, talk about the issue with impaired driving, and the issues with seatbelt use.” Czajkowski explained.

A legislative approach can also be beneficial, although he said recent hands-free driving legislation from the state is not comprehensive enough and hard to enforce.

“Some of the feedback I’ve gotten from local law enforcement agencies is there are some difficulties enforcing the current hands-free legislation that was just recently signed.” Czajkowski said.

He said distracted driving is now a secondary offense, meaning law enforcement cannot stop a vehicle on this citation alone. He argues this does not allow law enforcement to be proactive enough. He explains a proactive approach by law enforcement is the best way to change driver behavior. Evidence of this, he argues, can be seen when law enforcement agencies conduct checkpoints and saturation patrols targeting specific behaviors.

“When those campaigns are active, those numbers tend to come down because people are aware they’re out looking for this so they tend to make a better choice.” Czajkowski said. “I’m not saying don’t celebrate. I’m not saying don’t go to your fourth of July parties and have some adult beverages. What I am saying though is choose to have a plan ahead of time. If you know you are going to be impaired, don’t drive!”

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