PARENTS – Commit to better teen driving by teaching and using defensive driving skills.
Whether we as parents believe it or not, we influence our children’s decisions. When our teen begins to drive it is important to remember that driver inexperience is the main cause of teen driver accidents. Here are some facts:
16 years old teen drivers – Crash Facts
- Older drivers a 4 times LESS likely to crash than teen drivers.
- When a new 16-year-old driver has one or more teen passengers, crash risk goes up. In fact, almost two thirds of teen crash deaths happen when one or more teen passenger are present.
- Night-time fatal crash rates for 16-year-old teens are almost 2 times higher as daytime rates.
The first step to change these facts is to just talk to your teen about driving behavior and how to stay safe. And, believe it or not, it is true that repetition helps lessons to be learned. So repeat vital information at every opportunity.
Also take the necessary time to drive with them – and make it OFTEN! The more time they spend behind the wheel, with an experienced driver in the car, the better. During these drives make it clear what your expectations are and what defensive driving rules you expect them to obey. You can even draw up a Parent – Teen Driving Agreement such as the one found at the CDC – “Parents Are The Key” program.
If you spend the time to help your teen learn how to drive responsibly and safely it will pay off big – less risk to your child and all the rest of us on the road with them!
