Teen Driving Anxiety? 10 Tips to Help Teens Drive Safely
Your child received their first driver’s license and is ready to hit the road. Nonetheless, parents like you may still be worried especially when your child is under unsupervised teen driving. It is understandable. According to the CDC, hundreds of teens were killed or injured because of motor vehicle crashes. Newly licensed teens and teens driving with teens or young adult passengers are at higher risks of motor vehicle crashes due to their lack of alertness and experience to watch the road. The more you learn about the risks, the more anxious you feel for your teens.
Yes, as an experienced driver yourself, you can easily supervise your child as they drive, but note that you may not always be available to watch over them. Starting early, it is good practice to help your teens prepare for the road than to rely on your supervision to help them travel safely. You can surely supervise your child, but what you need most is to help them understand how to drive safely.
Starting with your supervision, along with our 10 tips, we will guide your way to educate your teens and help them learn how to be safer drivers on the road.
1. Be a Good Role Model
If you have driving experience, you are going to show your child tips and tricks you have learned when you started driving. Feel free to share your driving knowledge to help your child stay alert and focus when they are on the road.
Nonetheless, pay close attention to your own behavior as you are driving. Are you telling them how to watch out for pedestrians and reach for your phone while driving with one hand and speeding to make the light? Or are you behaving courteously and patiently as you cross the street and follow the signs? Watch out for the way you are presenting your behaviors as you tutor your child. They are learning the technical side of driving, but also the behavioral side of how to be a driver. You want to be a good role model for them so they do not imitate your bad practices that may put them at risk when they are driving.
2. Sign up for Teen Drivers’ Education
Your guidance in driving is not enough to prepare your child to drive safely behind the wheels. Make sure that your child has taken proper driving education programs to build a good foundation for safe driving habits. Enrolling in a teen drivers’ education program can prepare your child with the right resources to learn the rules on the road and practice safe driving. If you have not, you can check out driving education programs and driving schools like Ferrari Driving School to help your child prepare for safe driving.
3. Ensure Teen’s Condition
Young drivers hitting down the road early in the morning or late at night are at risk of accidents and injuries. Watch out for your child and make sure that they are not driving at times when they are tired or drowsy. If you see that they are not in the best condition to drive, warn them and ensure that they get a good rest before they get behind the wheel.
4. Supervised Driving Practice
As part of your getting your license, teens are required to have a minimum of 50 hours (about 2 days) of supervision driving. It is important that before your child can earn their license, they have been under supervised training. Even after they have received their license, try to supervise their driving for at least a few months. Spend time with your child practicing in an empty parking lot, an area with less traffic, at various times of the day, and in varied weather and traffic conditions to make sure that your child is exposed to different settings to get them comfortable. You should also emphasize the lookout for potential hazards including vehicles, bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. on the road. Start with supervised practice to help your child get comfortable and guide their inexperience.
5. Always Wear Seatbelts
The number one rule you should tell your child is to always wear seatbelts. That said, as the role model, you should be wearing your seatbelt to show them that they must do so too. It is not surprising that wearing your seatbelt is meant to protect and reduce your injuries from sudden crashes. According to NHTSA, wearing seatbelts can reduce your level of injury in an accident. Let your child understand that to be safe on the road, the first step begins with wearing a seatbelt.
6. Eliminate Phone Usage
Distractions during driving are a sign of a potential crash or accident on the road. As an experienced driver, you may get away with a quick text or call as you hit down the road, but that is not the case for your child. You should stop doing it and your child should never do it. CDC found that any form of distracted driving (visual, manual, or cognitive) can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash. Keep an eye out on your child when they are driving and warn them of phone usage for any reason. You want to help your child build a good practice so that when they are driving alone, they continue their good behavior.
7. Zero-Tolerance Drinking and Impaired Driving
Drinking before or while driving is a no-no. As an inexperienced driver, your child’s risk of crashing under the influence of alcohol increases substantially. The same is true with impaired driving. Do not let your child consume drugs or substances that will influence their ability to process their thinking and drive safely.
Set the example and tolerate no drinking or impaired driving. Watch over your child and make sure that they are not consuming anything before or during their trips that would put them at risk of a crash or injury.
8. Reduce the Number of Teen Passengers
As a teen driver, your child is likely to pick up their friends and drive with them. However, you should keep in mind that with friends, there will be conversations and music and really, distractions. There is no guarantee that your child will put aside the conversations and stay focused on the road ahead. The best way is to limit the number of teen passengers your child is allowed to pick up. This way, you are trying to reduce the level of distraction in the car to prevent any potential injuries or accidents that may put your child at risk.
9. Create a Parent-Teen Agreement
As you watch out for your child and set reminders of what not to do when driving, you can create a parent-teen driving agreement with your child to make sure that you are both on the same page. You can use the template offered by CDC or create your own agreement form. This is also a wonderful way to teach your child responsibility and accountability when they are driving.
10. Acknowledge Punishments
In addition to the agreement, you can also inform your child of potential punishments for improper driving behaviors to make sure they do not reinforce their bad behaviors again. Examples of punishment may include no driving for a period, doing chores, paying fines, etc. Feel free to brainstorm your own and make it acknowledged to both you and your child. You are holding them accountable of their improper behaviors to ensure safe driving behaviors.
Follow our tips to help you and your teens rest assured and at ease the next time they start driving, supervised or not! For more information, feel free to check our website at https://www.ferraridrivingschool.com/.