BATON ROUGE— As Memorial Day weekend kicks off, Louisiana officials are bracing for what they call the "100 Deadliest Days of Summer," a period when traffic fatalities typically surge on the state's highways.

Summer is known as a joyous time, with less work and school and more relaxation and vacation. But behind the leisure lurks a serious threat on the roadways: There is a sharp increase in automobile fatalities involving teen drivers from Memorial Day to Labor Day, also referred to as the 100 Deadliest Days.

The holiday weekend has already seen roads fill up, with motorists reporting heavy congestion.

"Cars everywhere, interstates backed up, regular roads are backed up — traffic everywhere," one driver said. 

With the increased traffic, AAA and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission are issuing advice to protect teen drivers from the dangers of distracted driving.

"The risk of getting into a crash for teen drivers doubles when they have a passenger; it quadruples when they have three or more teens in that vehicle with the teen driver," Donald Redman, AAA spokesman, said. 

The National Road Safety Foundation designates the span from Memorial Day to Labor Day as the "100 Deadliest Days" — the riskiest time of year for teen drivers.

"From Memorial Day to Labor Day, and it's largely again involving teen drivers. Thirty percent of their fatal crashes occur beginning now," Redman said.

The combination of driver inexperience, speeding and impaired driving — which is illegal regardless of age — contributes to the heightened risk.

Mark Lambert with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission urges those who are drinking to utilize ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft.

"Get someone else to drive you home. Get a designated driver, get a friend, a coworker, Uber, Lyft, whatever you need; do not get behind the wheel if you've been drinking," Lambert said.

As travelers hit the road this holiday weekend, Lambert offered a critical reminder about safety.

"Seatbelt, seatbelt, seatbelt. If you wear your seat belt, you are 12 times less likely to be killed in a crash," he said.