Additional Tips for Teen Safety While Driving

When parents take an active role in enforcing the rules of the road, as well as setting their own regulations and guidelines for use of the family car, teens are safer. Maintain an ongoing dialogue with your teen driver about safety and ways to avoid becoming another teen statistic.

• Set limitations on night-time driving, particularly on "cruising" or driving/riding in the car as a strictly social activity.
• Do not allow other teenage passengers in the vehicle or restrict the number of teens your young driver can carry. Teens in groups create additional distractions.
• Do not allow your teen to use a cell phone while driving. Model safe driving practices in your own driving habits by pulling off the road before making a phone call. Your teen should carry a cell phone, however, in the car while they are driving.
• Make sure your teen knows that seatbelt use is non-negotiable.
• Consider installing a monitoring device for the first year or two that your teen is on the road. Check with your insurance company about discounts for purchasing and utilizing such devices.
• Decide in advance who will pay for insurance, gas, and auto maintenance. Discuss who will pay if your teen gets a ticket for speeding or other infractions while driving.
• Outline "driver relief" protocol before your teen gets behind the wheel. If your teen gets into a situation where they should not be driving (drinking, fatigue, extreme traffic or bad weather conditions), they will be better able to make the right decision if they know that a simple phone call to a parent will remedy the situation.
• Discuss the rules above and other driving considerations with your teen and make them a part of the process of creating guidelines. When teens have a say in creating their own rules, they are more likely to comply and to talk with you first when they'd like to see those guidelines change.