A record number of travelers are expected to go out on the road this Memorial Day weekend, which begins the ‘unofficial’ start of the summer season. It also begins what the AAA calls the ‘100 deadliest days’ for teen drivers.
“According to a AAA review of national crash data, more than 30 percent of fatal crashes involving teen drivers and nearly one third of all impaired driving fatalities occurs between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” said Marke Dickinson, president and CEO of the AAA of Western and Central New York. While the name of the campaign is grim, Dickinson says the problems are preventable, and with education and a commitment to safe driving, tragedies can be avoided.
The top factors in deadly crashes, according to New York State Police, are driving while impaired or intoxicated, driving while distracted, and speeding.
“In just the 100 deadliest days, we see a 13 percent increase in DWI arrests. We see a 13 percent increase in distracted driving, and we also see a seven percent increase in speeding,” said State Trooper James O’Callaghan, who added that there was a 22 percent increase in motor vehicle fatalities within the state between 2023 and 2025.
He also stated that when a driver is distracted, one is 23 percent more likely to get into a collision than when a driver is operating the vehicle properly.
Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns joined police and AAA officials to mark the campaign, pointing out that this is a time of year when many teens are coming into auto bureau offices to obtain a driver’s permit.
“We are asking each one of those kids when they come in to not receive or take text messages, tweeting, speaking on their cell phone, wearing their seatbelt at all times, which is something that is sometimes forgotten,” Kearns said. “Being a good passenger, especially if you're in with the teen, and of course the seriousness of never being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
What if a ‘good passenger’ finds his or her self in a car with an unsafe driver? O’Callaghan admits it’s something many teens won’t easily discuss.
“If your teen is a passenger in that vehicle and the operator of that car is driving like a moron, you have to say something, speak up. That could be the difference of you making it home or not,” he said. “And if they won't stop that behavior, you as a parent make sure you have a good open line of communication between your kids.”
