Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety say this week (Oct. 15th through the 21st) and every week, parents should have conversations with their teens about the important rules they need to follow to stay safe behind the wheel. These rules address the greatest dangers for teen drivers: alcohol, inconsistent or no seat belt use, distracted and drowsy driving, speeding, and number of passengers.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens (15 to 18 years old) in the United States – ahead of all other types of injury, disease, or violence. Nationally there were 1,972 teen drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2015. An estimated 99,000 teen passenger vehicle drivers were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes.

Alcohol: In 2015, almost one out of five teen passenger vehicle drivers involved in a fatal crash had been drinking. Remind your teen that driving under the influence of any impairing substance, including illicit or prescription drugs, could have deadly consequences.

Seat Belts: Wearing a seat belt is one of the simplest ways for teens to stay safe in a vehicle. In 2015, a total of 531 passengers died in passenger vehicles driven by teen drivers. And, 58 percent of those passengers were NOT wearing their seat belts at the time of the fatal crash. Even more troubling, in 84 percent of cases when the teen driver was unbuckled, the passengers were also unbuckled.

Distracted Driving: Distractions while driving are more than just risky—they can be deadly. In 2015, among teen drivers involved in fatal crashes, 10 percent were reported as distracted at the time of the crash.
Speeding: In 2015, almost one-third (29%) of all teen passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash.

Passengers: Research shows that the risk of a fatal crash goes up in direct relation to the number of passengers in a car. The likelihood of teen drivers engaging in risky behavior triples when traveling with multiple passengers.
Drowsy Driving: Teens are busier than ever: studying, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and spending time with friends are among the long list of things they do to fill their time. However, with all of these activities, teens tend to compromise something very important—sleep. This is a dangerous habit that can lead to drowsy driving.

In 2015, 52 drivers in Iowa under the age of 21 lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes. The Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau encourages you to talk to your teen drivers about safe driving practices. Losing even one is one too many, don’t you think?

(Statistics provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:35 a.m. CDT

SUTHERLAND, Iowa (AP) — Residents of the small northwest Iowa city of Sutherland have gathered to mourn Carly Kreibaum, a 33-year-old mother of two who was among those killed in a Las Vegas mass shooting. The Sioux City Journal reports dozens of people converged Saturday morning at a downtown community center to remember Kreibaum. A burial was held later at a local cemetery. Kreibaum’s family requested no media attend the funeral. Several attendees later refused to comment, citing privacy concerns.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — More oversight and money will be needed to demolish an abandoned apartment building near downtown Waterloo. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports city officials determined recently that the apartments must be removed as if all the debris contains asbestos. That special designation requires more regulated cleanup. It’s also twice as expensive as more traditional demolition methods.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — Two northeast Iowa men are raising awareness about a critical shortage of emergency medical technicians in rural areas of the state and calling for changes in law so ambulance service is deemed essential. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Bremer County’s Emergency Management Coordinator Kip Ladage and the EMS association’s president Jim Schutte spoke about the EMS crisis at a Waverly town hall meeting on Oct. 11. Residents discussed funding services with sales or property taxes.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A jury has convicted a New York man in connection to a 2016 bank robbery in eastern Iowa. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the northern district of Iowa says 27-year-old Daniel Louis Jackson was convicted on charges that included armed bank robbery. A date for sentencing is pending, but he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison. Officials say Jackson and another man took about $8,000 from a Citizens State Bank in Hopkinton on Oct. 21, 2016.

(Update) – A man crossing Highway 6/7th Street in Atlantic Saturday night, was struck by a vehicle, but his injuries were not believed to be life threatening. Atlantic Police Lieutenant Paul Wood told KJAN News the pedestrian was crossing southbound from Poplar Street, when a vehicle whose driver was waiting to turn left from southbound Poplar Street, turned and struck the man.

Wood said the driver was waiting for northbound traffic to clear before he made the turn. He didn’t see the pedestrian until he was struck. The vehicle was not traveling very fast at the point of contact with the pedestrian. The accident happened at around 7:10-p.m. The person walking was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

No names have been released, and it’s not clear if any citations were issued. We’ll have more information for you on Monday.

Rescue personnel and law enforcement were called to the scene of a vehicle verses pedestrian accident Saturday night, in Atlantic. According to dispatch reports, a man was struck at 7th and Poplar Streets at around 7:10-p.m. One person was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

No other details are currently available.