Keep Your Teen Driver Safe
My oldest got his learner’s permit in December. Since then he’s been getting lots of practice hours in and driving in different situations; bad weather (snow), at night, on the highway. Now that he’s 16 he can get his driver’s license as soon as he completes driver’s ed. It starts in October and he’ll have his license by November. I’m a little scared.
My younger teen just turned 14 earlier this month. He can get his learner’s permit as soon as he passes the test. I haven’t taken him to the Department of Transportation for his test yet because I’m not sure my heart can take it. Two teen drivers? It makes me hyperventilate just thinking about it.
Teenagers are a mixture of inexperience and immaturity, which is a bad combination when it comes to trusting them behind the wheel of a 3,000 pound car. According to Readers Digest Special Report: The Dangers of Teen Driving, more than 5,000 teenagers die in car crashes each year. That’s a lot. But Readers Digest also has some tips to help make sure you teen doesn’t become part of that statistic.
- Teach your teens about safe driving. We may think our teens are fully aware of the dangers, but many teens need a refresher course. Set rules for your teen and follow through with the consequences. And make sure you’re being a good role model and following the rules yourself.
- No cell phone. There should be no telephone calls and no texting while your teen is behind the wheel of a car.
- Always wear your seat belt. Whether they are a passenger or the driver, your teen should always have their seat belt on.
- No speeding. It’s harder to control the car at high speeds. Plus it’s more difficult and takes longer to stop at higher speeds. So they need to watch their speed and follow the posted signs.
- Never drive after even one alcoholic drink. Teens tend to think they are immune from such things as drinking and driving. It’s not something that pertains to them. Until they go to a party, get talked in to a beer and then drive themselves home so they don’t have to tell their parents they had a drink. They’d rather risk the drive instead of letting their parents know they were drinking. Unfortunately that drive may be too big a risk to take.
- Fight for stricter state laws or make your own family laws. Some states are moving to a graduated driver’s license system. They have stricter rules to phase teens in to driving. A Johns Hopkins University study for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that tougher phase-in laws could decrease 16-year-old teen driver’s deaths by 38 percent. What’s a tough phase-in law? A law that requires a teen to be 16 before he can get his permit and 18 before he can get a full license, as well as limiting passengers to just one other person, banning cell phone use and prohibiting teens from driving between the hours of 10pm and 5am. If your state doesn’t have a phase-in law (and many don’t) then set your own rules for your teen.
Also fight for stricter penalties. The Department of Transportation is quick to tell you driving is a privilege, not a right. If teens aren’t willing to follow the rules there should be stiff penalties, including losing their license for a lengthy period of time if they are caught speeding, driving recklessly or breaking other laws.
- Be tough. When it comes to your teen driving you need to be firm. It can be the difference between life or death. It’s not the time to be their friend. You’re in control. You get to decide when he gets his license, you have the car and you have the keys. He needs to follow your rules or he can take the bus. Stay firm on your rules and make him follow them if he wants to drive the car.
When I first started driving with my license, the law said that I couldn’t carry any passengers for my first year, unless someone 25 or older was in the car.
Since I was the first one of my friends to drive, we all became excited that we could finally go places. Therefore, that law was pretty much ignored by me, and I took people all over. However, because I knew tat I was breaking the law, I drove extra careful when I had people in the car to avoid any mishaps. Even after that restriction was lifted, I kept the habit of driving carefully.
I agree fully with not using a cell phone or other device while driving (to be honest, that should go for everybody, not just kids), but not being able to drive anyone else for two years after you have your license is pretty tough. It used to be six months in my state (California), and I think that’s pretty reasonable.
Oh, and I also want to add that a lot of my friends didn’t get their licenses until they were 18. Upon getting their license, they could legally drive people whenever. I had been driving for over a year: 6 months with a permit, 7 or 8 with my license. However, I still couldn’t drive any passengers because I hadn’t had my license for a year yet.
So we ended up going with my 18 year old friends, which really isn’t how it should be. I had far more experience driving than they did, yet we had to go with them because that’s what the law required.
That’s more of a rant against the driving laws, but if your kid is in a similar situation, try to understand that what the law allows might not necessarily be what’s safest for him.
How about waiting until your son turns 17 before you allow him to get his license? That is what we are doing… The difference in accident rates between a 16 and a 17 year old is huge. Something like 35% of 16 year olds get into accidents that result in either serious injury or more then $1000 worth of damage. That goes down to something like 15% for 17 year olds and something like half that for 18 year olds.
And we are in a state that has tougher rules! (Massachusetts).
These are excellent tips. i make sure that my children will be acknowledged with safe driving tips. I can not even think about negative consequences that might happen from unsafe driving.
Paul says “what the law allows might not be what’s safest for him” While I agree with what your saying…it is still the law and ignoring it because you do not feel it pertains to you only fosters an attitude that it is ok to break the laws depending on how you feel about it. The Bible says we are to obey the laws of the land unless they break His laws. There is way too much “relative truth” going on in this world and way too many teenagers and adults who only follow the rules if it is convenient for them. Not all the laws are perfect I agree, but it does not make them less than the law which was made to keep people safe and to follow.