Dangers of Teen Driving
August 18, 2008 by Cherie Burbach
Filed under Parenting
The dangers of teens and driving isn’t a new issue. When I was a kid and learning to drive, we were told of the dangers in having other kids in the car with us, or listening to the radio, or taking our eyes off the road. But I never had to deal with cell phones, iPods, or text messaging. Granted, teens today are used to computers and texting while doing something else. They are multitaskers by nature.
An article over at Reader’s Digest gives tips on how people can help teens learn to drive safely. They list things parents can do (such as teaching your kids about the dangers) and things the rest of us can do (like fight for stricter laws about teen driving). The article also starts out with three real life examples on teen driving accidents that resulted in death. As if these stories weren’t enough, a couple statistics in the article stood out to me. Out of 5,600 teens surveyed:
“Only 28 percent said using a cell phone is a risk, and 10 percent said the same about having other teens in the car.”
and
“Only half cited speeding or not wearing a seat belt. Even if teens got the right idea about a behavior-for instance, 87 percent said drinking and driving is dangerous-they didn’t view it as their problem: Only 16 percent said they ever see it happen.”
As a teen, I remember thinking that whatever facts I was told, it wouldn’t happen to me. Whether this is arrogance or naivety (or a little of both), how do you get teens to realize the dangers and take action to prevent it from happening to them? How do you convince your teen that they can’t multitask when it comes to driving?
Thanks for you blog!
Your question is, “How do you convince your teen that they can’t multitask when it comes to driving?” I have two thoughts on that:
1. you could probably devise a cool scenario of having them try to accomplish some other task (something less risky than driving) while texting. Like something that if done incorrectly could ruin something they love, like an article of clothing (but not something that YOU care about!)
2. On the other hand, I think when we “try to convince” our teens, we are setting ourselves (and them) up for failure. “Trying to convince” is an adversarial stance, from a teen’s point of view. To them it means that we don’t want to hear what they have to say, but we definitely want them to hear what WE have to say! Multitasking while driving is serious and if they don’t see the seriousness, it doesn’t mean that we drop the issue. As a parent, it’s our job to make the rules that keep our kids safe, whether they get it or not.
I love discussions with teens. If discussions aren’t working, it’s ok just to “enforce” a rule matter of factly, but with a lot of love and compassion.
Margit: Great points! I love the first one especially, it would communicate to them in a fun (and not “preachy” way) that texting while doing anything else just isn’t a good thing.
But your final point is absolutely true as well. As parents, we’ve gotta enforce the rules if discussions aren’t getting through.
Thanks for commenting!
one way to practice and learn from a professional instructor is at http://www.teenlivedrive.com
the next best thing to behind the wheel.
fabulous!
Paul: Thanks for the site tip!