Imagine you are driving down a crowded interstate and a rush of brake lights ignite before you. You see a driver next to you take the shoulder of the road to avoid an accident. Now think about the last time you were at an intersection regulated by a stoplight and a driver near you slammed on the brakes to avoid a rear-end crash. Those examples are referred to as "near miss" car accidents. According to a recent survey the majority of teen drivers have experienced a near miss car accident.

According to the survey almost 70 percent of teenage drivers have experienced a near miss car accident. Parents in Pennsylvania be aware. The survey was conducted with almost 2,300 surveyed teenage drivers, but the number of near miss accidents does not stop at one. Almost half of those surveyed admitted they encountered more than one near miss accident over the last year and around 43 percent said they were involved with multiple near miss car accidents within the same time period.

Many teen car crashes are caused by inexperience and distraction but a significant number of the surveyed teen drivers claimed another driver was responsible for the near miss. One-third claimed another driver was responsible while only 13 percent claimed texting caused the near miss crash. Even fewer, two percent, admitted that talking on the cell phone was the cause.

Interestingly, the vast majority of the surveyed teens, 92 percent, assessed themselves as safe drivers but admitted it would take an actual car accident before they would adjust their driving behavior.

Source: Reuters, "Many teen drivers have "near miss" incidents," 6/16/11