TAMPA, Fla. — With summer here, many more teens are looking to get their licenses. This is also the time of year when crashes involving teen drivers tends to rise.
According to financial services site WalletHub, Florida is 29th overall when it comes to the best states for teen drivers. It ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of safety, which the site considered teen driver fatalities, the share of teen texting and other factors.
The best state listed for teens to drive is New York followed by Washington, Illinois, Maryland and Oregon. The state topping the list as the worst for teen drivers is Montana.
Summer is typically when we see crashes involving teens rise. It’s why it’s known in the law enforcement community as the 100 Deadly Days of Summer.
If you’re 16 years old in Florida, you can get your license. But by law, you can’t drive between the hours of 11 p.m and 6 a.m. unless you’re driving to or from work or you’re with an adult over the age of 21.
There are curfew restrictions for 17-year-old drivers, as well.
To curb teen-related crashes FDOT recommends limiting passengers, eliminating distractions, obeying the speed limit, wearing your seatbelt and never driving impaired. They're all things parents are encouraged to talk to their teens about and to follow themselves to set an example.