Daring to Drive - Setting Teen Drivers Up for Safety and Success

Hold onto your hats! We have a brand-new driver in our home. Amazingly, we are still sleeping at night, and we are happy to have a new pilot in our fleet.

As our teenagers have learned to drive, we have learned some important basic guidelines. A fair amount of advance groundwork, careful supervision, and parental modeling can go a long way towards building a fledgling driver into a skilled roadster.

Parents teach by example.

Even younger children are watching how we drive (and everything else we do). Require seat belts at all times. Practice safe driving habits, and observe posted speed limits.

Ride with your teen driver as much as possible.

From the moment your teen gets his temporary permit, give him every possible opportunity to practice with you in the car. Even after he receives his driver's license, ride along whenever you can. This will give him the chance to refine his piloting skills, while increasing your confidence in his abilities and responsibility.

Discuss safe driving together.

As you drive, and as your teen practices driving, talk about what you are doing. Point out potential hazards, explain how to parallel-park, describe how to merge into expressway traffic, and highlight the need to check mirrors constantly.

Eliminate distractions.

Explain how loud music, stress, fatigue, loss of concentration, and other factors can make driving more difficult.

Orchestrate test cases.

Set up opportunities for your teen to experience a variety of driving conditions. If it's raining or snowing, take him to an empty parking lot or safe area to practice. Make the most of these teachable moments. What does a skid feel like? How can a driver prevent the car from spinning or flipping?

Provide a safe vehicle for learning.

Use a safe, durable, reliable car to teach your teen to drive. Have tires, brakes, airbags, and other safety features checked out first.

Practice cell-phone safety.

Give your teen driver a cell phone for emergency use, but ban behind-the-wheel phoning. Instruct your teen to find an off-road spot before chatting. Call your teen periodically, when he is out with the car. Insist that he call you when arriving at his destination and as he leaves to return home.

Limit passengers.

Have a rule for the number of passengers (particularly underage ones) that your teen may transport. In many states, a teen driver may only carry one non-relative for the first six months of his licensed driving experience.

Exercise a tight curfew.

Don't let your teen drive after dark, especially at first. You don't have to relinquish the car keys on demand, day or night, just because the state says he can drive then. Fatigue and reduced visibility make nighttime driving more challenging, particularly for novice drivers. Also, find out what the published curfew is in your area.

Allow no alcohol for drivers.

Enforce a zero-tolerance policy for drinking and driving - for the entire family. Remember, your teen is watching how you behave as well.

Have an emergency plan in place.

Does your teen know what to do, if he actually is involved in an accident? Does he know whom to call? Does he know how to find a safe spot to pull over, if needed? How must he handle himself, if a police squad car should stop him for any reason?

By teaching carefully and preparing your teen, you can jump-start his driving career with safety and confidence.