Summer is great for a lot of things. Along with warm weather and an uptick in recreational events, teens get a whole three months off from school. But new research has shown that the summer months are also the most dangerous for teen drivers. A new AAA report, for example, found that seven of the most fatal days for teen drivers occur in the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day. And between 2005 and 2009, 7,300 teens were killed in summer car accidents, an average of 422 per month. These are daunting statistics, and parents, teens, and local governments should do everything they can to improve teen car safety this summer.

One of the best ways to do this is to educate your teen about the dangers of summer driving. For example, there are nearly twice as many car accident deaths during the summer months as the rest of the year combined, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. And according to research by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, teens are responsible for nearly 50 percent more drunk driving accidents during the summer than the rest of the year.