Parents often dread the day their teens get behind the wheel. While it can be convenient not having to drive them everywhere, it’s often difficult to enjoy the extra time that you have if you’re spending it constantly worried about your child facing the many dangers that await them on the road. That’s why when teens reach driving age, one of their parents’ top priorities is keeping them safe while they’re driving.
What Parents Can Do to Keep Teen Drivers Safe
Unfortunately, there is only so much parents can do to keep their teenage drivers safe. Teens will often be away from their parents’ supervision when they are driving, so their judgement and decision-making skills will trump anything their parents or driving instructors taught them. Still, despite evidence to the contrary, teens do listen to what their parents teach them, so if parents provide their teen drivers with tips and rules to follow while they are driving, it can make a difference in how their teens behave when they’re behind the wheel.
The following are a few tips parents can use to keep their teen drivers safe:
- No Drinking and Driving – No one is a safe driver if they have been drinking alcohol or doing drugs. Parents must make sure their teen drivers know this and that it is never okay to get behind the wheel if they have been drinking or doing drugs.
- Always Buckle Up – Drivers and everyone in a vehicle, including those sitting in the back seat, should wear their seatbelt. Parents should make sure their teen drivers understand that wearing seatbelts save lives and that they should not allow anyone in their vehicle who is unwilling to wear their seatbelt.
- Limit Passengers – Passengers, especially fellow teenagers, can distract teen drivers. A good idea for parents is to make a rule limiting the number of passengers that can ride in their teen driver’s vehicle. The less distractions, the more likely teen drivers are to concentrate on the road.
- No Speeding – Speeding is a problem for drivers of every age, but new drivers often don’t understand how dangerous speeding is, and how easily speeding can lead to devastating accidents and injuries. Parents should talk about the dangers of speeding with teen drivers and encourage their teens to drive the speed limit or less.
- No Distracted Driving – Like drunk driving, distracted driving should never be tolerated. Parents must make sure teen drivers know that when they are driving, their smartphones and any other distractions are off limits. Their concentration should be on the road, not on phone calls, texting, or their followers and DMs.
Speak with Our Experienced Car Accident Attorneys About Your Situation for Free
Despite our best intentions with our teen drivers, accidents involving them still happen. At Pierce, Sloan, Kennedy & Early LLC, we realize that, and we understand the care that must be taken with cases involving teen drivers. These are new drivers who often fail to drive with the level of caution that a more experienced driver would in a similar situation. Still, if they are at fault for a wreck, especially if anyone is injured or killed, they must face consequences, because their victims deserve justice.
Since 1999, we have been helping car accident victims and their families hold those responsible for their pain and suffering accountable, including recovering compensation for hospital bills, rehabilitation costs, loss of income, and living expenses.
Give us a call at (843) 968-0886 or reach out to us online today to schedule a free & confidential consultation with our experienced car accident attorneys.