This is the second installment of our three part blog designed to arm parents of teen drivers with important information about car accidents involving newly licensed drivers. While we have tried to address general issues that apply to many parents of teenagers in Atlanta, we invite you to contact us and speak to one of our experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney for a free consultation if you have more specific questions about an accident involving your teenager. If you have not read the prior installment of this blog post, you may want to review it before reading the information below.

What are my child’s rights as a passenger if a teen driver was texting or intoxicated when he or she caused a collision?

A passenger in another person’s vehicle may have a legal right to be compensated for his or her injuries regardless of whether the crash is caused by the negligence of the driver of another vehicle or the driver of the vehicle in which the passenger was traveling. However, insurance companies are increasingly arguing that teen passengers are partially responsible for causing collisions when they engage in unsafe behavior like showing a teen driver a text message or knowingly accepting a ride from a driver that the teen knows is under the influence of alcohol. These types of defenses can be complicated and highly fact specific so it is important to seek legal advice from an experienced Georgia car crash attorney if your teenager suffers injury as a passenger in a vehicle driven by a teen driver.

What are the biggest factors that contribute to high accident rates involving teen drivers?

This is a complicated question because there is no single factor responsible for the high number of collisions involving teen drivers. Traffic safety experts often cite a range of factors that include:

  • Lack of experience anticipating, perceiving and responding to road hazards
  • Tendency of those who are younger or less mature to engage in risk-taking behavior like speeding
  • Alcohol and drug intoxication
  • Inferior “muscle memory” in terms of automatic responses to unanticipated driving emergencies
  • Propensity toward distracted driving that includes text messaging behind the wheel

What if I am the victim of an uninsured teen driver?

While teenagers should never operate a motor vehicle without auto insurance, we frequently hear from auto accident victims that suffer serious injuries in collisions caused by uninsured teen drivers. This type of uninsured driving collision can pose potential problems because teenagers typically will not have assets against which an injury judgment can be enforced. Depending on the specific facts and circumstances, our experienced Atlanta car crash injury lawyers will evaluate other possible defendants, such as:

  • Owner of the vehicle driven by the teenager
  • Government entity for an unsafe road
  • Manufacturer of the vehicle for defects
  • Another driver involved in the collision or that vehicle’s owner

If you are a parent of a teen driver, we encourage you to review Parts 1 & 3 of this blog post. Our Atlanta car accident lawyers at Montlick and Associates are committed to seeking fair compensation for auto collision injury victims. Our personal injury lawyers are available to provide effective legal representation to those throughout all of Georgia and the Southeast, including all smaller cities and rural areas in the state.

No matter where you are located our attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED® (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.