Teen drivers are much more likely to have a driving accident than experienced adult drivers. According to the NHTSA, the unfortunate fact is, “crashes are still the leading cause of teen deaths”. The good news is that proper guidance from parents can decrease the chances of teenagers being involved in an accident. Before they get on the road, it’s a good idea to lay down some rules for teen driver safety. Here are six ways you can help decrease the likelihood of teenage driving accidents.
Auto Insurance For Your Teen Driver Is REQUIRED
Before allowing your teen to drive, make sure they are insured. The first thing that you need to do is check with your current insurance carrier to see how much it will be to place your child on your policy. Also, you may want to reduce your deductible while you have teenage drivers so that if a mishap occurs, it won’t be such a financial burden. You may also want to call around and get quotes from other carriers so that you know that you are getting the best pricing available.
6 Teen Driver Safety Tips To Avoid Causes Of Teenage Driving Accidents
1. Limit the number of passengers
Teens who drive with other passengers in the car are more likely to get into an accident than teens who drive alone. The risk goes up with every passenger in the car. Until they have a year or two of experience behind the wheel, you may want to restrict your teens to driving with one passenger at the most. If teens do drive with friends, discuss with them how they can encourage their passengers to be less of a distraction.
2. Create rules to limit other distractions
Whether teens are talking, texting or just reaching for the phone, cell phone usage while driving is a dangerous distraction, and teens need to know they should keep their eyes on the road at all times. Make sure they understand that cell phones are only for emergencies while driving, and even then, they need to pull over to the side of the road to use theirs. Eating, drinking, and applying makeup while driving can also be serious hazards. Make it absolutely clear that there is no texting while driving. Discuss with your teenager the dangers driving can present when they do not giving driving their full attention.
3. Set rules for driving at night
Even for experienced drivers, nighttime driving can be hazardous. New drivers are less likely to anticipate dangers in the road and less likely to react quickly enough to avoid them. Set rules about how late your teen driver can stay out in the evening, and if they’re driving at night, encourage them to stick to familiar roads. Before they go out in the dark, go over the rules of headlight and mirror usage.
4. Choose a good teen driving school
A good teen driving school will instruct teens on the basic laws and rules associated with driving a vehicle, but not all driving schools are of the same quality. Find reviews online, and call several drivers ed schools to learn more about them. Ask what techniques they teach new drivers and what kind of experience their instructors have. Providing your teen driver with as much knowledge and experiences as possible will help them to be as prepared as you can make them.
5. Track Teen Drivers
Knowing where your young driver is at all times can help to ease the worry. Installing a GPS tracking device on your teen’s car or using a tracking app can help you to know where they are. Although some may consider this option to be an invasion of privacy, remember that your child is still under your watch and therefore has limited privacy. You can choose to tell your child that this devise is on their car or not. This is a parental decision that needs to be made on a child by child basis.
6. Stay Involved In Your Teen’s Driving
Teen drivers are statistically worse drivers because they lack experience. You can help your teen get experience by allowing them to drive when you are in the car together. This way you can see how they drive and provide feedback. You can make sure your teen has safe driving habits and that they aren’t doing reckless things like checking their phone or listening to music too loud.
Make Sure Your Teen Knows What To Do In Case Of An Accident
When implementing these teen driver safety rules to prevent causes of teenage driving accidents, you still need to discuss the worst case scenario. Talk to your teen about what you expect if they are to get in an accident or get a driving violation.
All too often, young drivers become petrified about what the outcome may be when they find themselves in these situations and then try to take matters into their own hands. This can have negative ramifications not only on the teen, but also on you. A young driver does not know how to behave in an auto accident situation, doesn’t know how the accident process works, and doesn’t know how to deal with violations. They need to be educated on everything that you expect of them as well how to prevent driving accidents and what to do when in adverse situations and what the outcome will be if something were to happen.
Conclusion
It’s always exciting to see your child grow and accomplish new things. Having a child get to that momentous milestone of turning sixteen and being able to get behind the wheel alone can have mixed emotions. Discussing safety rules and asking questions about their driving habits will help keep safety top of the mind for your teen. Do you have teen drivers? To have you tips for those with teen drivers you want to share?
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Christy Garrett @ Uplifting Families says
My daughter will be driving one day and I plan on restricting the number of distractions in the car. I didn’t realize that passengers added distractions but after reading this post it makes perfect sense since they are likely to talk or do things they normally wouldn’t do when they are alone. Thank you for sharing these valuable driving tips. I am still afraid to let my daughter behind the wheel of the car.
Nicole Stanley says
All these are useful and practical tips to follow to be safe on the road. I use to frighten with thought of driving but with the lot of practice and year of driving I am overcome with the fear .My daughter is too young to learn driving but whenever the right day will come I will explain all the rules and driving habits properly.