Teen Driver Safety: The Parent's Role

The week of October 15-20 is National Teen Driver Safety Week. The leading cause of teen death in the United States is automobile crashes. Congress, insurance agencies, schools, parent groups and private companies have demonstrated support for improved education and training for new teenage drivers.

Occasions like this bring out the best and worst intentions. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia posted a series of notes about teen driver safety week that provide simple solutions that put the responsibility in the hands of the driver and the parents. This is also a chance for private companies to skew the issue in a way that would help fatten their bottom line.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia posted these Key messages for 2007 at their web site, www.chop.edu.

1. Parents are key to teens' success in learning to drive safely.

- Talk about it. Make driving an everyday part of conversation. Parents must understand the needs and challenges teens face while learning to drive; young drivers can learn from the wisdom and experience of their driving coaches.

- Invest the time. Parents need to be sure that their kids have enough experience to be safe drivers. If schedules are tight or lessons become tense, share the teaching time with an instructor or another trusted adult.

2. Teens don't have the time for distractions. Literally.

- Take driving seriously and pay attention to the road. In a potential crash situation, the driver has only 3 seconds to scan for and identify the hazard, decide on a response, and act . Any distractions cut into these precious seconds.

- Cell phones are only part of the problem. Passengers, heightened emotions, and fatigue can distract even the most experienced drivers from the road. For young drivers, these distractions are especially deadly.

On the other hand, Raydon Corporation released a statement supporting new funds and resources for driver's education in schools. While on the surface this is fine. Keep in mind that Raydon Corporation is in the business of virtual learning solutions. Driving simulators.

Raydon's release pays careful attention to the decrease in public school driving programs. A question this raises is, how appropriate is a driver education program in a high school and at what point do parents need to take a primary role in certain aspects of a child's education.

Given the varying quality of adult drivers, the American Automobile Association (AAA) prescribes new drivers attend a professional driving school, supplemented with supervised driving practice with parents. A professional driving school is considerably more adept at teaching safe driving practices than a public high school on a shoestring budget. A professional driving school is also a costly option for parents.

One element of driver education that parents are solely responsible for is teaching their child how to behave in a vehicle. The distractions from passengers, the radio and cell phones are deadly with a student behind the wheel. Parents can reinforce safe vehicle behavior through their own actions and consistent communication with their rowdy teenagers. The main focus of National Teen Driver Safety Week is on teen driver education, but it puts the onus squarely on the shoulders of the parents.