The statistics on teen drivers are startling. In 2018, some 285,000 teens were seen in emergency rooms because of their involvement in crashes. Further startling is that nearly 2,500 teens die from car crashes where they are the driver. The number one cause of teen death is car crashes.
If you have a teenager in your life who love and care about, those statistics can keep you awake at night. Teaching and enforcing teen driver safety has to be a priority for parents as they are about to let their teen embark on the responsibility of being a driver.
But the age-old question remains of how to get teens to be safer and more responsible drivers.
Read on for tips to remember so your young driver practices teen driver safety.
Practice, Practice, Practice
In most states, gone are the days where you take a few hours of driver's training courses, watch a video or two. Then you turn 16 and are out on the road.
Most states have some form of a graduated license. The truth is with most anything you are learning new, the more you practice it, the more comfortable, experienced and confident you become. You know as an adult driver, you have the experience that gives you instincts for how to react in certain driving situations.
Make sure your teen has had hours and hours of supervised driving before they go out on their own. Make sure they drive in a variety of practice scenarios before allowing them to drive independently.
Put Strict Driving Rules In Place
Teen drivers will push for independence. This is one time where it's important to be a strong and even strict parent. The statistics are pretty startling on what happens when teen drivers are distracted.
The more you can remove distractions from their driving experience the better. Put some driving rules in place like:
No texting or talking on the phone
No driving with other teenagers in the car
No food or drink while driving
It's a smart rule to require your teen to check in before they drive and once they reach their destination. You should know where they are driving and be confident they are comfortable with the route they will take.
Connect the Financial Aspect of Safe Driving
Being a driver means you have many responsibilities. Your teen needs to understand the finances that come with driving a car. Most teens get their driver's license and are anxious and excited to get their own car. Yet, they need to understand the financial responsibilities associated with that too.
Teach them about the cost of insurance for a teen driver to be behind the wheel. You can even do some easy research to show them what happens to the cost of insurance when the teen driver is involved in an accident.
If they want to buy a car, talk through what cars cost. If they have a job show them how to use the paystub maker when applying for a car loan. There is nothing like paying with their own money to motivate them to be safer with the car they are driving.
Get Your Teen to Practice Teen Driver Safety
From the day your kids are born, you worry about them at each milestone they reach. Becoming a driver is one of the big ones because there is so much potential danger when they are behind the wheel.
The more you can instill teen driver safety expectations and practice safe driving with them, the greater their chances of staying safe.
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