Teaching Your Teen to Drive: Five Important Rules
By Teresa Ambord
If you haven't yet taught your teenager to drive, you're in for a thrill. Your knuckles and your hair may turn white and you may lose a few years off your life. But on the positive side, once they're licensed, teens are eager to do errands for you (at least at first) in exchange for a chance to get behind the wheel.
As hard as it is on parents, it's hard on the kids too because the parents are a nervous wreck. On the other hand, kids believe they they're indestructible.
Here are some important points you and your teenager drivers should keep in mind:
- The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that car crashes are the leading cause of death among people ages 15-20.
- The same age group (15-20) also has the highest rate of fatal crashes among all drivers, including the elderly.
- Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two leading factors in the high crash rate, according to the NHTSA.
- The National Institute of Mental Health reports that the part of the brain that weighs risks, makes judgments, and controls impulsive behavior is maturing during the teen years, and isn't fully developed till the mid-twenties.
The good news is, before they are out there on their own, you get to teach them some good habits and hope those habits stick.
With all this in mind, here are some rules to teach your teens:
1. Start by avoiding distractions: The NHTSA says 25 percent of crashes occur because of simple distractions, like changing the radio station, or talking to passengers. That's why an increasing number of states require that teenagers cannot transport friends until the driver has several months of driving experience. Many states have also made it illegal for teenagers to use cell phones while driving (and some states now ban everyone from using handheld phones while driving).
2. Seat belts are not optional: Hopefully you've modeled a good example to your kids as they grew up by always wearing your seat belt. The rule has to be, the car doesn't roll until every passenger is buckled up.
3. Drive defensively: It helps to assume that other drivers may not be paying attention, therefore you are on defense. This includes:
- Always using your signals for lane changes and turns. If a car is in your blind spot and you make a bad lane change in front of them, they have warning of your intention if you signal.
- Take yellow lights as a serious warning to stop.
- Leave your ego and your emotions behind when you drive. This is not the time to prove you have the right of way or to teach that other guy a lesson. Road rage turns nice people into killers... if they live through it.
- Adjust your speed for the weather and road conditions.
- When you're stopped at an intersection and you get the green light, take a second before moving into the intersection to look both ways for cars that aren't stopping or that are turning on red lights.
4. Watch your speed: The NHTSA says that for every 10 mph over 50 you drive, the odds of crashing double. Even if there is no crash, speeding tickets cost hundreds of dollars in fines and can send your insurance costs soaring, that is, if it doesn't get cancelled. Too many tickets can also result in a suspended license. Teens who think they're impressing their friends by speeding should consider how cool it would be to have to give up driving and go back to the old ten-speed (or worse, being driven around by Mom) because of a suspended license.
5. No drinking and driving: This goes without saying, of course. But make sure your kids know that they also shouldn't ride with friends who have had so much as a sip of alcohol. A drunk driving conviction can result in a suspended license, probation, or time in jail, plus thousands of dollars in fines, and sky-high insurance. and all that is assuming they don't die or kill someone on the road.