While most of us have fond memories of driving our parents’ cars for the first time, things can look a bit different from the other side of the fence. Many parents find themselves experiencing apprehension as their teenage son or daughter obtains their permit or driver’s license. With a few simple tips, you can ensure that your teenage driver does his or her best to stay safe.
Don’t Text and Drive
Teenagers are especially plugged-in to social media and texting, which means that your average teenager is very likely always using a mobile phone. Attempting to use a cell phone while driving contributes to approximately 1.6 million car accidents per year.
Therefore, this is one of the single most important points that you should convey to your teenager. Certain cell phone applications are capable of locking the phone while traveling in a car, but since these can be circumvented, your best bet is to communicate openly with your teen to establish trust on this issue. Educate them fully on the issue, and suggest that they watch videos of texting accident survivors talking about their ordeal.
Observe Posted Speed Limits
While it may be tempting to drive with the flow of traffic, it’s unlikely that a police officer will accept this excuse if your son or daughter happens to be pulled over for speeding. Therefore, we recommend instructing your teenager to always obey the posted speed limits.
Driving at a lower speed usually correlates with a higher degree of safety, and it also prevents young drivers from accumulating a criminal record or incurring points on their licenses. They’ll also have more time to react if the car in front of them slows or a deer jumps out in front of them.
Avoid Driving with Friends
It’s only natural for teenagers to want to drive with their friends as soon as they obtain their licenses. However, a car packed full of adolescents is likely to cause a significant distraction for an inexperienced driver. Therefore, it’s a good idea to limit the number of friends with whom your teenager is allowed to drive. Additionally, some of your teenager’s friends are likely to be more trustworthy drivers than others, so you should also keep an eye on who they choose to ride with.
Select a Safer Vehicle
If you are purchasing a new (or used) vehicle for your teenager’s first car, consider basing your decision on that vehicle’s safety ratings. Crash test results and modern safety features are especially critical. Of course, many parents will simply have to allow their teens to drive the family car. In these cases, parents should place extra emphasis on the importance of driving safely in the first place.
While these tips apply to every driver on the road, they are especially important for teenagers to understand. Raising a safe and responsible driver will benefit not only your own family’s safety, but also the safety of everyone on the road. At Bravo Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, we would be happy to help you pick out the perfect starter car for your new driver.
Image “April10 033” by Lord Jim, used under CC BY 2.0
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