The majority of car accidents happen between the ages of 16 and 17, with the leading cause being from an inexperienced driver.

Heavy rain, inclement wintry weather, or unpredictable event such as disregarding traffic laws also cause car accidents.

“I overcorrected and ended up getting myself stuck in a ditch,” said Zach Thompson, senior, who had an accident junior year.

The best way to avoid accidents is to get the proper education and experience required. This requires participation from the teenager and his/her parents.

“Student safety while driving is a major concern, especially when they don’t know how to stop situations from happening like hydroplaning and overcorrecting on rough or frictionless surfaces. For example, if your car hits gravel on the side of the road and you jerk the wheel, trying to get back onto the road, without steadying yourself first, your car could flip,” said an anonymous student drivers instructor.

“While I was on a curve my front tires hit the wet grass so I couldn’t turn back onto the road, and ended up in a ditch. The only thing that stopped me from hitting one of the street signs was that my foot was on the brake,” said the anonymous student.

The most important thing that students have to be sure of is that they are constantly paying attention to everything around them while driving.

Over 58% of car accidents happen because the drivers are distracted in some way.

The best way to minimize distractions is to put the cell phone on silent and put it out of sight while you are driving to make sure that it doesn’t distract you. Also, have everything you need in plain sight so you don’t have to go searching for it.

Safety is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to driving and the only thing that people want for the kids who are beginning to drive, is for them to be as safe as possible.

One of the only ways to really do that is for them to be properly educated about different dangers on the road while they have their permits.

Parents should work on different scenarios involving dangers on the road. For example, if the vehicle’s brakes fail, and the parking brake must be used to stop parking break to stop on either an empty road or in a parking lot to minimize risk to everybody involved.