Teen Auto Driving Safety Tips

As frightened as you may feel about letting your teen start driving, take advantage of this critical opportunity to teach your son or daughter the skills required for a lifetime of safe driving experiences. In addition to having your teen enroll in a professional driver’s education course, plan on remaining your teen’s primary instructor. Make time whenever possible to take your teen to empty school parking lots to practice various skills before moving on to nearby streets. Remain calm and help your teen develop the confidence required to make the many highly responsible, split-second decisions often required of most drivers.

Keep in mind that your children start learning to drive by watching you, even when they’re still very young. Act appropriately since they will surely imitate your driving habits once they get behind the wheel with a learner’s permit. Set a positive example by always being polite to other drivers. For example, when you pull up to a corner where there are four stop signs, let one or two other drivers go first. Never speed or try to run the majority of yellow lights you encounter.

Furthermore, never use your cell phone when the car engine is running. Make it clear that it’s only safe to use a cell phone when the driver is sitting in a parked car. Since actions really do speak louder than words, make sure you drive exactly the way you want your teen to drive when you’re not present. In addition to these basic driving practices, make sure you personally provide your teen with adequate information about each of the following driving tips.

Suggestions for Helping Your Teen Become a Safe Driver

• Have Them Start Out by Driving Alone (After the time has ended when an adult may be required by state law to be present in the car.) Passengers of any age (other than parents) can pose too great a distraction for many new drivers;
• Provide Definite Driving Curfews and Penalties for Breaking Them. Teens simply don’t need to be out driving late at night. Note that any curfew violations will result in the temporary or permanent cancellation of your teen’s driving privileges (depending on what exactly takes place during a given curfew violation for which there is no valid excuse);
• Always Stay up and Greet your Returning Teen Driver. Set an early curfew when your teen first starts driving alone. Stay up and greet your teen when he or she returns. Make sure there hasn’t been any drinking and driving. Any smell of alcohol on your teen’s breath should result in the immediate revocation of all driving privileges for an extended period of time. You might even want to insist on driving your teen to all school and social events until you’re convinced that he or she won’t repeat that behavior again;
• Provide a Safe Car that’s big enough to offer ample protection should your teen get involved in an accident – many teens experience “fender benders” or more during their early driving careers;
• No Music Initially. Advise your teen to avoid listening to any music during the first months when they start driving alone so they can stay completely focused on their driving;
• Require Some Level of Financial Responsibility. Have your teen contribute to the car’s upkeep or buy their own gas with their part-time job earnings. If they can afford to do so, have your teen also contribute to the cost of their car insurance. Teens required to shoulder such financial responsibilities at an early age are more likely to view driving as a privilege they should take seriously;
• Basic Skills Must Be Mastered First. Don’t forget to make sure your teen has learned how to drive at the proper speed, parallel park the car, use proper turn signals and give pedestrians the right of way. Emphasize the importance of leaving plenty of room for motorcyclists or regular bicyclists who may also be sharing the road. Also, personally remind your teen how to respond when a school bus stops in front of them or when they can hear an ambulance or fire truck approaching;
• Find Out Your Teen’s Weakest Skills Areas. Speak with your teen’s professional driving instructor to get a firsthand idea of your child’s poorest driving habits. Is she a risk taker? Does he often run yellow lights or follow other vehicles too closely? Plan to work with your teen on these problem skills areas. Remember, it’s never wise to introduce your teen to freeway driving or heavily congested traffic until you and the professional driving instructor agree that your teen’s driving skills warrant such training;
• Maps Should Be Studied Ahead of Time. If your teen believes a map will be needed to reach their destination, have them study it ahead of time, before getting behind the wheel of the car. Too many accidents occur when people are looking at a map and trying to decide where they should turn.
• Monitor Your Teen’s Driving. Consider following your teen on one or two occasions, without announcing this plan ahead of time. If you think it’s necessary, think about having a device installed in the car that will let you monitor your teen’s driving decisions, such as how fast they drive or how close they follow behind other vehicles. Let your teen know if you’re planning to install this type of device for added safety reasons. You might want to set a tentative date for removing the device, if your teen doesn’t have any accidents for an extended period of time. However, make it clear that you will re-install it on a permanent basis should your teen ever get involved in any accident.
• Make Sure Your Teen’s Car is Properly Maintained. Teach your teen the importance of regular car maintenance. Explain why tires should be inflated properly and why various hoses and car parts should be checked periodically. Be sure the spare tire is in good shape. Advise your teen to always keep a fully charged cell phone in their car so they can pull over and call for help when an emergency develops. Make sure your teen also carries your family’s emergency contact information, their driver’s license, proof of car insurance and car registration with them.
• Remind Your Teen that Driving is a Privilege, Not a Right. Go online with your teen and review the driving accident statistics reported by groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Let your teen know that though driving can be a wonderful convenience, it can prove deadly if not taken seriously at all times.

We hope these suggestions will help you properly train your teen to make the safest decisions possible while learning to drive.

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