Safety Tips for Your Teen Driver

If you think you are overreacting every time your teen asks for the keys, don’t worry, you have a very good reason to freak out! According to the Institute for Highway Safety, 16-year olds get into accidents almost 10x’s more often than other drivers. Many things account for this huge gap in accident rates.

Driver inexperience is a major contributing factor. To help your teen become a good driver, it is imperative to teach them the basic foundation of Driver’s Education. This encompasses practicing the correct driving skills, and knowing the traffic laws.

Another factor is immaturity; young drivers take unnecessary risks such as speeding, not wearing a seat belt, and aggressive driving. Be a good role model for your teen practicing safe driving techniques.

So now that your teen has graduated from a permit to their license, it’s time to buy a car.

Purchase a car that is cheap and has an outstanding crash rating. Heavy cars do much better in an accident than small lightweight cars. And you can bet that your teen will get into at least one fender bender.

Enrolling your teen into a good Defensive Driving Course will equip them with the necessary skills to avoid accidents.

Make sure that your teen understands the forces involved in car crashes. Explain to them that while your car has a crumple zone to soften crashes that occur at high rates of speed, your Skull has no such device to soften the impact your brain will make at these speeds. Therefore teach them to always wear a seatbelt.

Finally, tell them NO to cell phones and friends. According to MADD; “teen driving crash rates increase by 50% with just one teen passenger in the car, and by 400% with three or more teen passengers,” and the same hold true for those talking on cell phones.

In conclusion please remember that 63% of teenage deaths occur as a result of automobile accidents!

Here are some additional tips on how to buckle up properly:

• The safest seat for children 12 and under is the back seat.
• A third of the deaths of children 12 and under in vehicle accidents could be avoided if children were placed in the back seat and buckled up.
• Pregnant women should place the lap belt as low as possible under the abdomen and the shoulder harness to the left of the tummy bulge and between the breasts. The safety belt will not harm an unborn baby; however, an unborn baby may be harmed if the mother becomes injured in a collision because she failed to wear a safety belt.
• If the area doesn’t have seatbelts because it isn’t meant to be ridden in – don’t ride there! It is illegal to transport passengers in the back of a flatbed truck, unless that flatbed is equipped with passenger restraint systems (The only exceptions are emergency situations and parades). It’s also illegal to transport animals back there (except for livestock and dogs used for ranching and farming), unless the truck is specially equipped to carry animals – it must be enclosed, or have side and tail racks of at least 46 inches in height extending vertically from the floor. Otherwise, the vehicle has to have means installed to keep the animal from falling (or jumping!) from the vehicle, such as a secured cage or tethers.
• Effective January 1, 2007, CVC 21712 states it is a misdemeanor violation for any driver to knowingly permit a person to ride in the trunk of a vehicle. Additionally, any passenger found guilty of riding in the trunk is guilty of an infraction.
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