Road Safety Practices For Teen Drivers
Road Safety Practices For Teen Drivers
You may be wondering why it’s so important for your teenager to learn how to drive. But the truth is, it’s not just about them. It’s about safety and keeping everyone in your family safe.
Are you worried about your teen’s safety while they are on the road?
According to an experienced personal injury attorney Atlanta, teenage drivers can pose a real threat on the road. The statistics regarding car accidents involving young drivers just backs it up.
It’s almost never too early to start teaching your children road safety. Even if your child is still using scooters and bikes, it’s important to teach them how to operate the vehicle properly. When you are driving with your children, it is important to make sure they understand how to stay safe on the road. By taking a few simple precautions, you can help your child be more aware of their surroundings and keep them from getting hurt in a car accident.
Driving with Kids: The Basics
The best way to teach your child how to drive is by taking them out for short drives and having them follow along behind you as you drive around town. This will give them experience in driving, so they can feel comfortable when they begin taking longer trips with their friends or family members. It’s also important that children have regular practice driving outside of school or other structured environments.
It’s also important for parents and guardians to push for age-appropriate driver education programs for teens. These programs cover everything from learning about road signs and traffic laws, to safe driving techniques and rules of the road.
Safety Practices
The best way to stay safe on the road is by giving your child a lesson in road safety from the start. As they get older and more independent, you can work on their driving skills with them.
Here are some tips:
Start by teaching your child how to buckle up their seat belt.
This is especially important for older children who may not be able to do it themselves yet. Make sure that each child has their own seat belt and that they know how to fasten it correctly before starting the car. This is a basic safety rule that will save lives in the event of an accident or if they become unresponsive due to an overdose on drugs or alcohol.
Keep them away from the front seat.
Don’t let children sit in the front seat until they are old enough to safely drive themselves around town or on long trips. The safest place for an infant is in a rear-facing car seat in the back of a parent’s lap or behind another passenger’s seat.
Educate them about impaired driving.
This is a very good rule to live by. It’s not only illegal, but it can also be deadly. If you’re driving, you should never drink alcohol. The effects of drinking and driving are too great for your safety.
Inform them about the risks of distracted driving.
Texting while driving is dangerous because it distracts drivers from their primary task of keeping themselves safe on the roadways by focusing on reading text messages instead of seeing what’s happening around them at that moment in time. Texting while driving can lead to traffic accidents and may even result in injuries or death if another driver crashes into them as a result of their distraction by texting while driving.
Encourage them to obey traffic signals and signs.
Teens are not the best at following rules, especially when it comes to traffic signals. The rules of the road are very complicated, and they can be hard for teens to understand. But if you start early and make sure they understand what you’re teaching them, they’ll be much better off in the long run. So make sure they know what to do at intersections and crosswalks, as well as when they’re driving on a road with a curve or hill. And make sure they know how to slow down before approaching a stop sign or light.
Teens are often more likely to do something if they know the consequence of not doing it. If you tell them that if they don’t stop at a stop sign, they’ll get a ticket, or worse, they won’t be able to drive for a week, chances are they will listen.
Discourage speeding, no matter how much fun it might be to go fast.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding is the leading cause of teen crashes. In fact, speeding was responsible for more than half of all fatal teen crashes in 2015.
So how can you discourage speeding? It’s tough — but it can be done. Here are some tips:
- If your teen is interested in racing or drag racing, talk about the dangers of speeding and how that could lead to an accident or even death.
- Encourage your teen to use the seat belt whether he or she is driving or riding with you in the car.
- Tell your child that if he or she gets pulled over for speeding and refuses to take a test or makes up an excuse not to take the test, then you will take away his/her license — permanently. This should serve as a strong deterrent against speeding!
Enroll them in driving courses
Your teen will be able to get a license at 16 years old, but there are still steps you can take now to help them get ready. One best way is to enroll them in a driving course. A good driving course helps teens learn the rules of the road, know how to handle their vehicles, and avoid any accidents. They also cover topics like traffic signs and signals, safe driving habits, and defensive driving techniques. Look for one that’s taught by an experienced instructor who has lots of experience teaching teenagers how to drive safely — not just adults!
Takeaway
We all know that our youngster’s lack of maturity makes it difficult to gauge risk or even improve driving skills. Because of this, extra precautions need to be taken in order to have a safer future for our teen drivers.
If you are among those who are in the process of learning how to drive, this article will help you be guided on some important factors that should be observed while behind the steering wheel.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
