AAA warns of the 100 Deadliest Days of driving

A smashed white Honda sits on display at the Auto Club building University Park as a reminder to teen drivers to be safe over the summer months as the 100 Deadliest Days of driving are upon us.

The Automobile Club of Southern California and Cambridge Mobile Telematics partnered to get the message out to teen drivers: Don't speed, avoid phone and music distractions and wear a seat belt.

The period between Memorial Day and Labor Day has been named the 100 Deadliest Days, as statistics show, it's when teen driver crashes increase dramatically.

According to the latest data available, from 2012 to 2021, 7,316 people nationwide died in teen driver-related summertime crashes, that's an average of 812 deaths per year. It's also nearly half of the total number of those killed in teen driver crashes for the entire rest of the year.

"These are tragedies in the summer months that don't have to happen," said Doug Shupe, AAA.  "That's why the Auto Club is partnering with CMT, to get the message out about how dangerous it is when kids have more freedom, they're spending more time with other peers and unfortunately they are engaging in very dangerous driving activities."

According to newly released data by CMT, from 2020 through 2022, both speeding phone and phone screen interaction increased by 5% during the 100 Deadliest Days.