This weekend, our area will welcome hundreds of high school students into the post-high school world.

It will be a time of celebration, and justifiably so, for the young adults who have their hard-earned diplomas in their grasp and their loved ones. We hope those joyous occasions don’t lead to an incident that makes the event memorable for sad and tragic reasons.

The end of the school year always leads to more young drivers on the road during the day, and in the evenings. We urge that the rules of the road and the need of safety behind the wheel and in the passenger seats are imparted upon them. 

In a 2014 CNN report, the National Safety Council’s statistics for 2014 showed more than 1,000 people were killed in traffic accidents nationwide between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Of that number, more than 550 were teenagers.

The National Safety Council says that 2 million teens under 18 years old are in their first year of driving and each year, drivers under 18 are involved in 900,000 crashes. Forty percent of crashes happen at night and most before midnight, according to the National Safety Council, and drivers ages 16-19 are the most likely to be involved in a fatal crash.

Driving from 9-11:59 p.m. accounts for only about 10 percent of trips for drivers ages 16 and 17, but it is during that time when 17 percent of fatal accidents occur. 

Fatalities from wrecks involving teen drivers, including drivers, passengers and others, were as high as 11,415 in 1985. That number fell to a little more than 4,367 in 2015 but hasn’t fallen any further since. 

Statistics show that motor vehicle crashes continue to be the number one cause of death for U.S. teens. The National Safety Council also reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates the total number of deaths among teens ages 13 to 19, including pedestrian and bicycle incidents, was 2,734 in 2017. That is equivalent to more than seven deaths per day.

The following tips for post-graduation celebrations could help a teenager from becoming another tragic statistic. For the adults, make sure there is an adult at every party your child will be attending and know who will drive your teen to and from the occasion. Also, remind them you are there to pick them up or help them under any circumstance. For the teens, it is paramount you do not get into a vehicle with anyone who has been drinking or is under the influence and also don’t get behind the wheel if you have been drinking or under the influence. Though you might not like hearing “no” as an answer to anything, there is nothing wrong with saying “no” if you think the situation might turn dangerous.

Please enjoy the festivities around graduation. It is a time to celebrate accomplishment and achievement. But we ask that it done safely, for yourself and those around you, so that there might be another weekend to celebrate for all.