Warn Your Children About Car Surfing

National Teen Driver Safety Week for 2008 begins Monday, October 19 and runs through the 25^th. This is the second annual event aimed at the prevention of teen car crashes and injuries. The theme for this year is passenger safety. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, notes that over half the teens who die in crashes are passengers. In anticipation with the event, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have released a media analysis examining the risks of car surfing.

Car surfing is the extreme activity often engaged in by teens and young adults where they ride on the roof or the hood of a moving car. The "surfer" may be standing or sitting, alone or with others. The speed of the vehicle need not be high and as little speed as 5 mph can produce fatal results.

The CDC compiled data from the last 18 years, January 1990 to August 2008 for their analysis. They used a national newspaper article database for their findings. What they found were 99 reported incidents of car surfing, averaging 5.5 per year. This may seem low but the significance rises when combined with the fact that 58% of the incidents were fatal. Speeds ranged from 5 - 80 mph among the incidents.

The analysis found also that car surfing may be an activity that is regional and seasonal in nature. The activity may also be limited by a surge of local community popularity spread through stories, oral communication, and copy-cats, then the activity may die down again.

Specific findings of the analysis include that the average age of those injured or killed was 17.6 with 70% being male. The largest number of deaths occurred in August. 74% of the incidents reported were in the Midwest and the South. 75% of the deaths were caused by a blow to the head. Also it is worth noting that in 29% of car surfing injuries, a sudden and abrupt movement of the vehicle was mentioned.

The best way to combat the madness of car surfing is through education. It begins at home. Parents must talk about this activity with their teens and younger children alike. Warn of the dangers and deaths and tell them how to deal with the situation should they ever be pressured into the activity. Schools can also play an important part in prevention by warning their students, especially in driver education classes.

Another method of combating such dangerous activity as car surfing is already in place in several states and that is the graduated licensing system. By limiting the hours of 16 and 17 year-old drivers, states have found reductions by 38% in the fatal auto accidents of 16 year-olds.

Sources:

Gail Hayes, "CDC Media Analysis Examines Car Surfing", Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Staff, "Teen Drivers and Graduated Driver Licensing", Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Staff, "National Teen Driver Safety Week", The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia