Safety Tips for Teen Drivers

Every parent's worst nightmare is receiving a late night phone telling them that their teen aged child has been in a car accident. It is a feeling that leaves every parent feeling powerless, scared, and often even hopeless. While sometimes there is nothing that a parent can do to prevent their teen from getting into a car accident, there are steps that can be taken to decrease the likelihood that the accident is their child's fault.

The fact is that 40 percent of teens have an accident within a year of getting their license, and accidents cause a staggering one-in-three teen deaths. In a recent article by Good Housekeeping, four steps are given that can help parents lower the risks of having a teen driver. With the new cell phone law, teen drivers will be ticketed for using a cell phone in any capacity, regardless of whether or not they are using a hands free device or not.

The four keys to minimizing risks for teens are:

1. Set limits for when and where they can drive, and enforce those to keep your child.

2. Establish a curfew

3. Recognize that lack of experience is a serious risk. So, monitor your child's driving extremely closely for the first 1500 miles.

4. Limit distractions: no cell phones, loud music, etc...

While all teen driver's may feel like they are not being given the "freedom they deserve" the fact is that their lack of experience makes them a danger to themselves and others. Minimizing distractions is something that is difficult to do as a parent but still can be done. Your teen driver may not enjoy the rules that are "holding them down" but hopefully you, as a parent, will be able to sleep a little easier at night.

We at Davis Law Group are in full support of the new cell phone law and anything will minimize the risk for teen drivers as well as those sharing the road with a teen driver.