Suggested Teen Driving Safety Tips

Tip # 1
Make it Old, Solid & Bold

• OLD, LARGE and SOLID
• Think classic station wagon or full-size sedan with a small engine
• Check the vehicle's history to assure that it's a safe and reliable
  
  Parent's Tip: "Old, large and solid" may not be the words your teenager wants to hear, but they'll like them better than "take the bus."

Tip #2
Be a Winning Coach. Motivate Your Young Driver

• Check frequently to ensure that your teen understands
• Keep things moving by giving your instructions in real time
• Point things out as they happen
• Act more as the co-pilot than taskmaster
• Keep an eye on the road ahead of you at all times
  
  Parent's Tip: Practice these tips in every driving session. And leave the whistle at home, coach!
  

Tip #3:
Less is More - The Potential Catastrophe of Passengers

• Friends lead to excitement, distractions and peer pressure
• Fatal crashes with teen drivers are more likely to involve passengers
• Teens are less likely to wear seat belts when driving with other teens
  
  Parent's Tip: Teens plus teens in a car equals disaster. Just say "no" to passengers for the first year.
  

Tip #4:
Keep Your Hands on the Wheel to Avoid Distractions

• Keep both hands on the wheel while driving
• Don't talk on the phone without a hands-free accessory
• Wait 'til the next stoplight to change that CD
• Don't drive with passengers until you are more experienced
  
  Parent's Tip: Don't remind your teen of all the possible distractions. Instead, enforce keeping your hands on the wheel and you'll avoid most of the distractions that cause serious crashes.

• Linking belt use to graduated driving privileges
• Making your teen pay any fines that they incur
• Teaching by example - always wear your seatbelt
• Exercising your parental authority
  
  Parent's Tip: Tell your kids to buckle up or walk. No negotiation. When they have kids, they'll understand!
  

Shocking Stats
Teens have the lowest seat belt use rate of all drivers.
This rate becomes worse when there are other teens in the car.

Tip #6:
Defensive Driving for Teens

The first year of driving is a high-risk period especially for beginners starting at age 16. Inexperience, nervousness and lack of practical skills can lead to bad decisions behind the wheel. Create a home graduated licensing program with your licensed teen:

• Continue to ride along and coach your teen even after they obtain a license.
• Set a driving curfew (morning and night) to limit 'after dark' driving.
  Monitor and limit your teens driving during inclement weather.
  Restrict the number of passengers when your teen is driving.
  Talk to your teen - find out what situations or techniques he/she has trouble with, then take them to a low-traffic location and have them practice with you in the car.

Tip #7:
Boys vs. Girls

• This is not a competition either of them wants to win
  
  Parent's Tip: "Anything you can do I can do better" is a phrase kids hear a lot growing up. Perhaps a better way to word that phrase should be "Anything you can do I can do safer."
  

Tip #8:
Learner's Permit Required?

• Set your own waiting period for your teen
• Pursue a driving instruction program outside the school
• Log plenty of practice time with your teen before letting him or her take the driver's exam
  
  Parent's Tip: State laws and instruction are great ways to get your teen started on the road to safe driving, but what you do with and for your teen makes the most difference.
  
  

Tip #9:
Parent-Teen Driving Agreement

• Issue - Curfew
• Responsibility/Rule - Weekday evening curfew of 10 pm and a weekend evening curfew of midnight
• Agreement - Coming home after the curfew will result in the curfew being set one hour earlier for one week
  
  Parent's Tip: Treat your teen with the same respect by allowing them some control over the rules of driving.
  

Quick Tip
Don't forget: As the parent, you are the boss! Driving is a privilege-especially for teens. The parent giveth and the parent taketh away.

Tip #10:
We all need our space. The 3 second rule

• As the car in front of you passes a fixed point like a sign, tree or building, count "one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three". If you reach the designated point before three, slow down.
• Increase your distance by one for each bad driving condition. For rain and fog you would add two seconds.
• Make sure you drive in the middle of the lane to allow space on the side of the car.
• If the driver behind you is too close, change lanes and let them pass.
  
  Parent's Tip: Let your teen know that adding additional space between cars will not slow down their travel time any more than a few minutes. Better to arrive a few minutes late than not at all!
  

• Commit to the 100 hours of supervised instruction (100 hours is only 2 hours/week for a year, or 4 hours/week for 6 months)
• Make it routine--set aside a specific day and time for driving practice (Put it in your day-planner if you have to; this is an appointment for safety)
• Go with the flow--when the lessons require driving at night or in bad weather, make adjustments
  Don't cancel, reschedule--when you have to work late or something else unexpected comes up, don't cancel your driving date, reschedule it.

Parent's Tip: Demonstrate to your child that you are making this a firm commitment to their safety

Tip #12:
Tapping the Wall

• Make sure your vehicle doesn't have a fragile plastic license plate frame positioned in front of the bumper (If you have any doubts about the idea, or are worried about damage, don't try it. Or, you drive.)
• You or your teen pull into a parking space that abuts a solid concrete wall
• Stop, and then move forward slowly until the vehicle's front bumper contacts with the wall. Even at one mile an hour, the sensation will send a shiver through both of you
  
  Parent's Tip: Let them feel the shock of even the slightest bump; it will leave an imprint on your teen that will make them a safer driver.

Tip #13:
Mirror, Mirror on the Car

For the driver side mirror:

• Have your teen roll up the window
• Press his or her head against the glass
• Then adjust the mirror so that they can just see the edge of the car
  
  For the passenger side mirror:
• Have your teen place their head in the center of the car (directly behind the inside mirror mount)
• Adjust the outside mirror so that they can just see the edge of the car.
• This is necessary even with convex (curved) mirrors where the image is distorted a little
  
  Parent's Tip: Repeat that routine every time you and your teen begin a lesson to make blind spots virtually disappear.

Quick Tip
Teaching Tip: Regular and proper use of mirrors is hard to learn but the pay off is big.

Tip #14:
Driving Practice -- The Ultimate Video Game

• Slow down
• Access the situation
• If visibility is only 100 feet ahead, you should be doing no more than 35 MPH. If it's at 50 feet, it's 25 MPH, and so on.
  
  Parent's Tip: Build up to an hour or more per session. It will help your teen's mind and body become more accustomed to driving and build more confidence.
  

Quick Tip
Teaching Tip: Ten sessions driving is time well spent.

Tip #15:
Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Road?

• An office building or complex after hours
• A shopping mall early in the morning
• A place of worship any weekday
• A high school parking lot on weekends
  
  Parent's Tip: Try your own office parking lot after work. These lots offer plenty of space, and as a bonus, they probably have marked, defined areas to practice maneuverability techniques.