My Turn: 100 Deadliest Days of Summer reminds Alaska drivers to slow down

  • By DENICE HARRIS
  • Wednesday, June 1, 2016 1:03am
  • Opinion

Summer. Many Alaskans live for it. It’s three months out of the year when the days are warmer, the skies are bluer and the daylight never ends. Fishing, camping, kayaking, hiking, swatting mosquitoes — you name it — we cram as much as we can into those three months. Locals and tourists flood our highways all hours of the day soaking in all that Alaska has to offer — opening more opportunity for vehicle collisions. Hence, the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer.

The 100 Deadliest Days of Summer is a phrase coined by AAA to define the timeframe between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when an increased number of drivers — teenage and experienced — hit the road. It’s a time when we see the sobering statistics of highway fatalities increasing as distractions and drinking come into play.

But the bottom line? It’s the time when your decisions behind the wheel can have devastating effects for yourself, your loved ones and other drivers. The opportunity to turn the stats around and do away with this phrase lies entirely in the hands of Alaskans statewide, if they would choose to use more caution, take things more slowly and focus on driving and arriving alive.

According to the Alaska Department of Transportation, 65 loved ones never made it home in 2015, due to vehicle deaths. And in 40 percent of those cases, seatbelts weren’t used. These drivers and passengers made a choice, and that choice ended in death. It’s simple: seatbelts save lives. Ask any first responder to the scene of an accident, and they will resolutely tell you that a seatbelt worn saved a life, or one ignored resulted in death.

The 100 Deadliest Days is also a time when teen drivers and their parents need to take extra precautions. Teens crash four times more often than adult drivers, with car crashes being the leading cause of death for people ages 16-20. A young driver’s likelihood of dying in a crash increases with the number of passengers under 21 in the car. Parents need to set boundaries for teen drivers, mandating no cellphone use when operating a vehicle, requiring the teen drive alone or with no more than one passenger, and — most importantly — simply spending lots of time with the teen driver to give him or her ample practice in a wide range of situations.

This summer, we encourage Alaskans to pledge to help reduce vehicle deaths on our roadways. The Last Frontier is too beautiful to have its roads littered with the debris of entirely preventable accidents.

• Denice Harris is the Director of Brand and Membership at AAA MountainWest, which covers close to 200,000 members in Alaska, Montana and Wyoming with travel, insurance, financial and auto-related services.

More in Opinion

Web
Have something to say?

Here’s how to add your voice to the conversation.

The Aiviq, a private icebreaker the U.S. Coast Guard is considering purchasing for Arctic operations with Juneau as its home port, is seen on March 24, 2012. (Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard)
Opinion: Giving credit where credit is due

It’s been a long time since the Juneau economy has been bolstered… Continue reading

Gus Schumacher, an Anchorage cross-country skier, testifies at a Senate Budget Committee hearing last Wednesday. (Budget committee screenshot)
An Alaska Olympian went to D.C. to testify on climate change. Then a senator dredged up old tweets.

Gus Schumacher hit with climate science quiz in exchange that went viral in conservative circles.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, second from right, attends a bill signing by President Donald Trump on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House photo)
Opinion: Sen. Dan Sullivan, a conservative in name only

It’s easy to imagine Sen. Lisa Murkowski broke out in a smile… Continue reading

(Anne Onamuss / For the Juneau Empire)
My Turn: Alaska’s deepest trouble is nonsupport of education

People are exiting The Great Land and are reluctant to come here… Continue reading

The studio model of Starship “Enterprise” from Star Trek is on display at The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on its reopening on Oct. 14, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Opinion: No Alaska governor has ever so boldly held schools and students as political hostages

“Star Trek” reference looks past real argument for school funding.

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Black-and-white view of Gaza goes too far

Alexander Dolitsky’s letter rebuffing Dixie Belcher’s attempt to humanize the tragedy unfolding… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Murkowski and Sullivan should oppose Trump

The New York Times reported Saturday that Mr. Trump said, “some migrants… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: If you see roadside rubbish, please pick it up

I met a young Tlingit lady and her friend this weekend, picking… Continue reading

Looking up at the 1882 Edward Webster House on Telephone Hill from Second Street and Main Street in January 2024. (Photo by Laurie Craig)
Opinion: Juneau Assembly holds firm on Telephone Hill development

In a rare moment of near unanimity during a special Assembly meeting… Continue reading