Pledge To Keep Your Teen Driver Safe

   
          With a break from school, family vacations and days by the pool, summer is an exciting time for teenagers. Summer is even more exciting for those teens that turned 15 during the school year and can now begin drivers’ education courses. Many students use their summer vacation as the perfect time to practice behind the wheel.

            Unfortunately, accidents involving teen drivers are extremely common. “Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). The most common factors putting teen drivers at risk are:

•     Failure to recognize and respond to dangerous situations
•   Distractions inside and outside of the vehicle
•   Increased risky driving as a result of male teen passengers
•   Low seat belt use
•     Underestimated distances combined with increased speed
•    Elevated blood alcohol concentration

Parents can help instill safe driving habits in their teenagers to prevent accidents. Ensure your teen completes all 50 hours of driving practice during the permit period with you or an adult 21 or over with a valid driver’s license. Ten of these hours should be at night. Prepare your teen by having him or her drive new routes each time he or she drives. Help your teen develop safe driving habits by limiting distractions in the car. Put cell phones away and keep the radio off or on low.

After your teen receives his or her license, continue to monitor his or her driving. Enforce your community’s nighttime driving restrictions. Most communities set a 10 p.m. curfew Sunday through Thursday and an 11 p.m. curfew Friday through Saturday. For the first 12 months with a license, drivers ages 16 to 17 are limited to one passenger under the age of 20, unless the passenger is a sibling. Cell phone use and texting are prohibited while driving.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention encourages parents and teens to develop a driving agreement. Together, teens and parents can develop personalized driving rules that fit their family. Click here for a copy of the CDC's Parent-Teen Agreement and pledge to keep your teen driver safe.

"I Pledge Video." (2011). Parents are the Key. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ParentsAreTheKey/socialmedia/video-ipledge.html