Safety For Teen Drivers - 10 Tips For Parents

No matter how experienced you are at driving accidents happen but new drivers are four times more likely to be in an accident than experienced drivers.

Inexperienced drivers are more likely to make mistakes and 70% of accidents that result in injury, death and/or property damage are caused by human error. 1. Distractions cause accidents.
Limit the number of passengers allowed to ride with your teen. 2.

Teens love to listen to music but iPods or MP3 connected to their car stereo encourage them to take their eyes off the road. Glancing down, even for a few moments to change the song, can lead to disaster. 3. GPS devices are a great way to keep your teen from being lost but entering destination information while travelling is unsafe.

Ensure the GPS device is set to 'safe mode' that only allows input when the vehicle is not in motion.

4. Texting and talking on the phone are major distractions. Insist all cell phones be turned off while driving.
The temptation to "just see who is calling" is too great, and even glancing down to read the call display takes a driver's attention off the road.
Check with your cell phone provider, there are applications that can be downloaded to some cell phones that detect motion and automatically tells all incoming texts and calls that the driver is unavailable.
5. Speeding reduces the time a driver has to react to dangers. Talk to your teen about safe driving speeds.
If you still have concerns consider installing a GPS tracking device that reads the vehicles travelled routes and speeds.

This information can be downloaded from the device on to your home computer (GPS tracking may not be legal in all states).
Live GPS tracking is also available with special monitors, or through some cell phone service providers. 6.

Driving late at night offers additional challenges for new drivers.

Besides reduced visibility falling asleep at the wheel is also a risk. Many states restrict the hours that new drivers are allowed to be on the road.
If your state does not consider making your own rule about when your teen driver is allowed to be driving. 7.

Most collisions occur within 25 miles of home.
Show your teens the high risk intersections and areas close to home and on routes they travel frequently.

8.

40% of accidents happen at intersections, 25% of these are fatal. Making a left hand turn onto a busy street without the benefit of traffic lights should be avoided.

Show your teen detour routes that will get them onto these busy streets without having to make a dangerous left turn.

9.

Wearing seat belts increase the chances of surviving a collision by over 50%. Insist they be worn at all times.

10.

Set a good example.
Follow the same safe driving rules that you would like your teen to follow.

A good driver training class and plenty of practice time with a parent is critical to learning safe driving habits.

Talking to your teen about driving and staying safe is critical to learning safe driving attitudes.