America’s roads are about to get a little more dangerous as summer approaches.

Experts dub the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day as the "100 deadliest days of summer" due to a consecutive spike in teen-related driving incidents.

The summer months see an increase of more than 20% in teen traffic fatalities, according to the National Road Safety Foundation (NRSF), based in New York. 

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Every year, 2,100 teens on average are involved in fatal crashes, the foundation said in a press release, with 30% — or seven deaths per day — happening in that 100-day period.

To raise awareness, NRSF has partnered with youth groups such as Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) in an attempt to make this summer safer.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, SADD executive director Scott Meyers said summer is the "deadliest time of year" for teen drivers who are out of school and on the road traveling to work, vacations or activities with friends.

"Basically, they’re on the road more," Missouri-based Meyers said. "And statistics will show that … teen drivers are distracted by everything."

Common distractions can include passengers, signs on the roadside and cellphones, among others, he said.

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There are also more pedestrians walking and biking during the summer, Meyers said — a factor that statistically leads to more incidents. 

Increasing the danger is the fact that more than 50% of teen drivers involved in crashes were not wearing seat belts, according to Meyers.

AAA National Office driving expert Bill Van Tassel also discussed the "100 deadliest days" in a separate interview with Fox News Digital, saying there are "a lot of changes" for teen drivers once summer arrives.

"A lot of the environment in which they're driving changes," said Van Tassel, based in Longwood, Florida. "Part of that involves a higher risk behind the wheel."

"Overall, it's important that we get the word out — not only to the teens themselves to help them understand that this is a risky time, but also to their parents, who ideally are quite involved in their teens' driving."

Based on AAA data, a total of 21,461 fatal crashes involving teens occurred in the U.S. between 2013 and 2022 — and 31% of them happened between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

SADD’s 2024 campaign, called "The Safest Summer Ever," will feature student-led programming that teaches safe practices such as wearing seat belts and avoiding distractions, according to Samantha Talarico, the company's Tennessee-based communications manager.

"We want to continue equipping these youth to have these conversations," she told Fox News Digital. "Because just as easily as they can say, ‘Oh, that's silly, we don't need to do that,’ they can also turn around and say, ‘Hey, buckle up.’"

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As Meyers pointed out, the awareness campaigns encourage students to share these messages on social media and "positively impact" their peers through fun games and activities.

SADD works with its national and state-based Student Leadership Councils to determine the conversations needed around mental health, substance abuse, traffic safety and other initiatives involving teens, Talarico said.

Meyers and Talarico agreed that SADD’s student-led approach is key to resonating with teens, since they’re most aware of what will have an impact on their peers.

"[The students] tell us all the time, ‘We really don't want people talking at us. We just want to talk to each other,’" Talarico said.

To reduce the risk of car accidents in the summer, Meyers encouraged teen drivers to "do everything they can" to stay safe, including observing the speed limit, wearing a seat belt and "not going beyond what you’re comfortable doing."

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"For teen drivers, it's a newfound freedom, and it's an opportunity to take risks," he said. "Sometimes those risks go above and beyond our comfort level."

Meyers advised, "If you're not comfortable or if it doesn't feel right, you probably need to stop … and pull over. You probably need to say no, whatever the situation is."

Parents and guardians also have a responsibility to encourage their teenagers to check their comfort level behind the wheel and to make healthy decisions, Meyers added.

He said he hopes that's "going to save their lives and other people's lives."

Americans sometimes take their "privilege to drive" for granted by ignoring the rules of the road, Van Tassel suggested.

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"That privilege can be taken away from us, so we need to take it seriously," he told Fox News Digital. "That means thinking about driving more than we usually do."

Since driving as a daily task can sometimes become mindless, Van Tassel encouraged all drivers to be "100% aware" of what’s going on around them, since it's "hard to avoid hitting something if you don't see it."

Distracted driving is "even trickier" with teens who feel constant social pressure to attend events and are more likely to reach for their cellphones while driving, Van Tassel warned.

"They might think, ‘I'm just going to look at the screen real quick or send a text,’" he said. "But it only takes half a second to miss something important [on the road] — and then you're in big trouble."

The driving expert encouraged parents and guardians to drive with their teens as a "supervised practice" to help them gain experience, while sharing their own driving knowledge and experiences.

"We want at least as much or more oversight by parents during the summer," he said. 

"Parents ideally would require a check-in before every trip … and be as involved as possible in their teen’s driving."

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Anyone can be falsely accused of a crime. Vindication relies on the right to a fair trial. 

Regrettably, the Manhattan trial of former President Donald Trump bears no resemblance to that cherished constitutional promise. Almost nothing during this five-week trial can be described as remotely fair.   

District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s absurd case made a mockery of our legal system. Judge Juan Merchan compounded the injustice by dismantling the principles of due process that every defendant deserves. His rulings from the bench consistently favored the prosecution and foreclosed Trump’s lawyers from presenting a bona fide defense that would be permitted in any other courtroom.  

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Working in tandem, Bragg and Merchan proved they have little respect for the rule of law or the rights of the accused. This is not an impartial tribunal.  It’s an Orwellian show trial with a preordained outcome.  There’s no presumption of innocence, only the expectation of guilt. 

The impact of this case stretches well beyond the verdict, whatever it may be. Incalculable damage has been inflicted on a once-respected institution, our judiciary. The corrupt actions of the prosecutor and the transparent prejudice of the judge constitute moral failings that will inevitably breed cynicism about democratic government. 

The anti-Trump bias of Merchan is particularly insidious. It was on full display when the defense called to the stand, Robert Costello, who once served as an attorney for the D.A.’s star witness, Michael Cohen. Recall that the judge allowed both Cohen and another prosecution witness, ex-porn star Stormy Daniels, unfettered latitude to trash Trump in court. Gratuitous, sordid details and rank speculation meant to prejudice the jury were eagerly welcomed by Merchan.  

But when Costello was sworn in and began to accurately portray his former client as a con artist who lied to the jury about the pivotal issues in the case, the judge shut him down faster than a New York minute.  Whereas Cohen and Daniels were given free rein to inveigh against Trump with endless narratives, Costello was muffled by the judge who all but stuffed a sock in his mouth.  

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In one ignominious moment, Merchan became so unhinged that he threatened to jail the witness for looking at him the wrong way.  "Are you staring me down right now?," fumed the egomaniacal judge. It was so melodramatic that even your average thug would blush with embarrassment.   

Without limits, Cohen was empowered by the judge to misinterpret federal campaign laws over which he has no knowledge or expertise.  He repeatedly informed the jury that payments to Daniels broke the law.  But Merchan would not permit the defense to call a qualified expert —the former head of the Federal Election Commission— to properly explain to the jury the true meaning of election statutes and how Daniel’s non-disclosure agreement did not qualify as an unlawful campaign contribution. 

Apparently, Merchan has never bothered to read the rules of evidence in New York (Rule 7.01).  An expert can not be precluded from offering an opinion on an ultimate issue in the case if it is beyond the knowledge of the jury and would help them.  Here, the campaign finance statutes are so complex and convoluted that they border on the incomprehensible.  

Without the expert’s testimony, jurors will now be left to make an uninformed guess.  Which is precisely what Bragg and Merchan are counting on.  

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Throughout the trial, the judge enabled the prosecution to conceal the so-called "mysterious crime" that somehow elevates an expired misdemeanor into felonious conduct. So, here we are at the end of the trial, both sides have rested their respective cases, and closing arguments are set to begin next Tuesday.  Yet, we are no closer to understanding what underlying crime Trump supposedly committed. It’s a farce.    

No capable or impartial judge would have permitted such an egregious violation of the Sixth Amendment.  Every defendant has the fundamental right "to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation" against him.  But Bragg never abided by that constitutional guarantee. Even worse, Merchan let him get away with it —the same way he allowed his local court to be misused to enforce a federal law over which he has no authority or jurisdiction.   

All of this is consistent with a judge who brazenly violated Trump’s free speech rights by preventing him from commenting on Cohen while the latter trashed the accused on social media during the pendency of the trial. Trump was gagged but Cohen was not. Try to make sense of that. You can’t.  

Merchan was not about to tolerate objectivity or sanction fairness in his fiefdom. The concept of a level playing field was relegated to a bad joke.  Instead, Bragg and Merchan colluded to poison the trial by indoctrinating the jury with false information and phony testimony. At every turn, they attempted to brainwash the panel into believing that criminal activity was afoot despite evidence to the contrary. 

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In reality, none of the essential elements of the alleged crimes in the indictment have been met by prosecutors.  There is no credible evidence that Trump engineered or even knew about booking entries by accountants that were not false at all.  Nor is there any plausible evidence that he willfully violated campaign laws that were not violations at all.  Where is the fraud that prosecutors argued in their opening statement? Like Bigfoot, it’s a fictitious missing link in the case.    

This has always been a trial in search of an imaginary crime and a disgraceful charade.     

This case has reasonable doubt written all over it. But the jury has been fed a litany of lies and deceptions by District Attorney Alvin Bragg that were endorsed by presiding Judge Juan Merchan. Together, they have trampled on the rights of the accused through the tyranny of mendacity and unchecked power.          

This is exactly what American statesman, Sen. J. William Fulbright, so memorably warned about when he said, "When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they deny others a fair trial, when they resort to innuendo and insinuation, to libel, scandal, and suspicion, then our democratic society is outraged, and democracy is baffled."

Fulbright was not prescient. He knew through experience that unscrupulous men imbued with unbridled power are capable of uncommon acts of corruption. Only strength of character can withstand the temptation.  

Incorruptibility may be rare, but it is sadly absent inside this Manhattan courtroom.

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