Crash Proof Your Teen

Statistics show that as many as 40% of teens get in some kind of accident during their first year of driving. These range from fender benders to cars that are totaled. Each year over 5,000 teens are killed in car accidents, and hundreds of thousands are injured. So, what can you do to crash proof your teens? Consider the following:

1. Start by teaching them right. The more supervised driving they have, the better chance they have of being a good driver. Once they are awarded their license, and you are no longer required to be in the car while they drive, the opportunity to teach them good road driving is gone. You can't just rely on the driver's education system and other driving programs to teach your child to drive. They need to practice, and the best way to do that is to drive with you. The more practice they get with a supervising adult, the better chance they have at avoiding crashes, and becoming a safe driver rather than a road hazard.

2. Take advantage of the "learners permit" stage. This is a stage where you have to drive with them, and they are looking to learn. So, optimize it by giving them plenty of opportunities to drive, and in plenty of different circumstances. Let them drive on back roads and parking lots when starting, then bump them up to more congested roads. Give them a chance to drive at night, or in the morning when there is some fog. Let them merge onto the highway, and practice safe driving in the rain. Basically, during this stage, try to replicate every possible driving scenario they will face on their own, but with you in the car. This way you can teach them the right way to handle these situations, and let them learn right from the beginning, so that you do not have to try and re-teach them later. That never works well.

3. Set rules for driving. The first couple months after a teen is allowed to drive on their own are the most dangerous. The risk of crashing jumps up by as much as 20%. Because teens need rules to be crash proof, start by discussing the rules that make the most sense. For example, teens tend to have more rear end accidents than most because they ten to tailgate. So, teach road rules like "count to three, safe you'll be". It might be a silly little ditty, but the fact is, if your child practices leaving space in the form of three seconds between them and the car ahead, even if they are not anticipating problems occurring further up the road, and potential road hazards, their chances or not crashing if one occurs, really jumps up. Beyond this, set rules for things like yellow traffic lights, you don't speed through them, you stop. Make sure they know not to talk on their phone, adjust mirrors, or change the radio or CDs when driving. Do that before, or pull to the side of the road when necessary.

Source: EzineArticles.com