"Trunking" The Latest Danger to Teenagers
By Tom Wiecek, President of the Society of Family Insurance Specialists

Just when you thought you've heard it all ...

As I was doing my research for this month's issue of my Driver's Seat e-newsletter, I came across an article about the latest danger teens are getting themselves into.

We all know that car accidents are the number one killer of teens in the US. Now there is a trend going across the country that is adding to the danger of a teen behind the wheel and it's referred to as "Trunking".

As a teen, I remember hearing about kids in school that would climb into a trunk to sneak into a drive-in movie. Of course, I would never partake in such an act. But today, now that the drive-in movie is obsolete, there's another reason why kids are doing this.

Almost every state in the country now has laws limiting the number of passengers during the first few years of a teen driver's experience. These laws were passed to reduce the distractions in the car that have been proven to cause so many accidents. In order to circumvent these laws, kids are now packing themselves in the trunk of the car to be able to go with their friends. The worst part is that they will stay in the trunk while being driven all over town and even beyond.

The dangers are obvious to us and include suffocation, carbon monoxide poisoning, heat exposure, freezing, being crushed or thrown out of the car as a result of an accident. You can just imagine how dangerous this could be for your child.

So what do you do? First explain the dangers and then define the consequences/punishment of this type of action. If your child is guilty, take away driving privileges and inform all the involved kids' parents of the act. You'll also want to pass this article on to other parents, just to let them know what kids are up to these days, so they can proactively counsel against it.

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