Earning a license is one of the most exciting time in a teenager’s life, but it’s also a nerve racking experience for parents. It’s natural to worry about your child’s safety, and it’s natural for them to be too excited to fully understand all the dangers they might face on the road.
Fortunately, they are several ways you can help your teen during this pivotal time in their lives. It takes a lot of patience and communication, but your efforts will not be in vain. Here are ways to keep your teen drivers safe.
Practice Makes Perfect
Ideally, you should begin working with your child long before they take their driving test. The goal is to spend between 30 and 50 hours on road with your teen during the six months they have their learner’s permit.
Make sure to work with them on a variety of roads, times of day, and weather conditions. Having them practice in varying degrees of traffic is also highly advised. The more you can expose them to now, the better off they’ll be when the time comes for them to drive alone.
Teach Defensive Driving Techniques
Your teen could be the safest driver on the road, but that doesn’t prevent others from causing an accident. The best way to help your child handle other drivers is to teach them defensive driving techniques.
Staying a safe distance away from other vehicles is the number one tactic, allowing a driver to better avoid potential accidents. A keen eye, removing distractions, and keeping both hands on the wheel are also excellent techniques.
Make Seatbelts a Rule
Despite the known safety benefits of wearing a seatbelt, some people still think they don’t need to buckle up. Your teen might be one of them, which is why you need to insist on seatbelts and make wearing them a rule.
This one is difficult to enforce once your teen earns their license. You just have to hope your words got through to them. Ultimately, however, your other efforts will help them not to be at fault in an accident. You can remain proactive here by hiring an attorney who is familiar with representing auto accident victims.
Distraction-Free Driving
Texting an driving is the most common and dangerous form of distraction, but it isn’t the only one. Eating, blasting music, and even conversation that draws attention away from the road can all be just as perilous.
Like seatbelts, you won’t always be there to enforce your rules. However, you can have an honest conversation about the dangers and model distraction-free driving for your teen to follow. While rebellion is common in this stage of life, your teen takes after you a lot more than you might think.
Zero-Tolerance on Drinking
Stressing the dangers of driving under the influence can never happen enough. Don’t preach it, though. Instead, help them educate themselves through statistics and news stories. Express your concern for their safety over possible punishment, and create an honesty system where they can call you for a ride at anytime without fear. Why hire a DUI attorney when you can pick them up knowing they made the best decision in that scenario?
