SafeDriver
by Tina Gallagher
For many, back-to-school will take on a different role this year. Along with traditional math and English, teens of legal driving age will need to be educated on safely getting behind the wheel.
Most teenagers can’t wait until the day they get their license. With driving comes greater freedom and independence. But too much freedom and independence too soon can have dangerous results. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, in 2013, 371,645 people were injured and 2,927 were killed in crashes involving a teen driver.
“Teen crash rates are higher than any other age group, and this data confirms that the impact of their crashes extend well beyond the teen who is behind the wheel,” notes Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
It’s not surprising that teen drivers fall into a higher risk category given their inexperience. Additionally, teens are more likely to speed, follow cars more closely, turn improperly and use their cell phone in some manner.
So what can parents do to ensure their teens are as safe as possible when they get behind the wheel?
Find a driving school
Research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that drivers’ education is associated with a lower incidence of both crashes and convictions and that teens who completed a formal course not only scored higher on the driving exam, they also demonstrated increased safety knowledge over their peers who did not have formal training.
Budget cuts have forced many school districts to eliminate drivers’ education programs leaving parents to fend for themselves and hire a private driving instructor. The best way to find a qualified instructor is through referrals. Ask parents with a licensed teen to recommend driving schools and instructors. Your local AAA office and car insurance company should also be able to offer a list of options.
When researching instructors, be sure to ask for credentials as well as how many hours your teen will spend behind the wheel. Do they expose your teen to a variety of roads and traffic situations or simply teach the basics needed to pass the licensing test? Along with traditional training, some driving schools are certified to offer student driver testing, which means your teen will be tested by his driving instructor eliminating the need to go to a test center.If that’s something you’re interested in, be sure to find out if it’s offered before hiring an instructor.
Don’t forget to check with the Better Business Bureau about complaints against any instructor you’re considering.
Establish the rules
Make sure your young driver understands that driving is a privilege, not a right. Before handing over the keys, communicate not only the risks of driving, but also clearly spell out your expectations for good driving behavior and the consequences if he fails to meet those expectations.
Pennsylvania laws help out with the most important safety rules for young drivers, but you can build on them to come up with a strategy that will help keep your teen as safe as possible. A parent-teen contract detailing your policies will help ensure that there are no misunderstandings as to what the expectations and consequences are. A sample contract can be found at teendriving.aaa.com/files/file/Parent.Teen.Driving.Agreement.pdf
Practice makes perfect
In Pennsylvania, teen drivers are required to have 65 adult-supervised hours behind the wheel before taking their driving test. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t aim for more than that. In conjunction with his formal drivers’ education, spend as much time as possible in the car with your teen driving. More practice means a more experienced driver.
Allow your teen to drive in varied conditions on a variety of roads so he gets comfortable dealing with different situations. It’s important for him to have practice driving on interstates, in bad weather, at nighttime, and in heavy traffic.
Set a good example
“Do as I say, not as I do” rarely works with kids. Your teen will expect you to exhibit the same safe driving behavior you require of them. If you speed, run red lights, avoid seat belts and text while driving, you’re not setting a very good example for your young driver and he’ll more likely to participate in risky behavior going forward.
Follow through
If your teen breaks a rule, be sure to administer the pre-ordained consequence to their action. Just because they avoided an accident this time, doesn’t mean they will the next.
Learning to drive isn’t as simple as most teens think it is. You don’t just get behind the wheel and go. Stricter young driver laws have reduced teen injury crashes in the past twenty years, but it is ultimately up to you as a parent to educate your teen as much as possible so he’s safe behind the wheel.
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Resources for families with teen drivers:
- Driver‐ZED – driverzed.org
Interactive risk‐management training tool designed to help teens recognize how to react in a variety of driving scenarios.
- TeenDriving.AAA.com –teendriving.aaa.com/PA/
AAA site that provides state‐specific information to help parents and their teens navigate the learning‐to‐drive process.
- The rules for young drivers in Pennsylvania can be found at:dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/young_drivers/yng_drv_fact_sheet.pdf.
