Road Safety Reminders Parents and Teenage Drivers Should Keep In Mind
Having a driver’s license doesn’t mean your teenager can drive safely all the time. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that the 32% of the 4,347 car accidents in 2013 consisted of 15 to 20 year old drivers. And 50% of them were in high school.
This is an alarming number and the same report shows the primary reasons for those crashes – drunk and distracted drivers.
If you’re a parent you probably could not resist the need to talk with your teenager about precautionary measures he should do to avoid this dilemma as the worst may not always happen in car accidents but more often young drivers will get some type of injury.
To help you get started with your parent-child talk here are some road safety reminders you can include.
Mind what you’re feeling
Teenagers experience the most number of changes in their bodies and emotions. It’s just a natural part of this stage in life. They get mad, hyper, sad, and scared in short intervals of time. Their bodies are also hungry for rest so they crave a lot of sleeping time. And these emotions and regular body needs could attack even when they’re driving.
So remind your teenager to be mindful of their feelings when driving. If they’re having extreme bursts of emotions or are feeling they need a shuteye, advise them to pull over to the side of the road and spend some minutes there until they’re more relaxed and most especially, until they regain their focus to drive safely.
Your phone and the internet can wait
Texting, even talking over the phone, while driving is a big distraction. As mentioned earlier, being distracted is one of the top reasons for car accidents. Receiving calls and text messages, even post updates and tweets from social media accounts are normal nowadays but attending to them while driving is not normal at all.
Remind your teenager that those notices can wait. The only things they should give complete notice while on the road should be the road itself.
Alcohol and driving are never going to be friends
Drunk driving has been the cause of road fatalities since cars have been invented and that’s not about to change very soon. The effects of drinking alcohol are better faced while on the couch or bed. Expressing your concern about this deed to your teenager is always a thoughtful act. Don’t let up on it.
These reminders will help keep your teenage driver alert on the road but having auto insurance will help both of you cover expenses should accidents still happen. After all, accidents are still unforeseen occurrences. If you’re in Newburgh, New Windsor or Marlboro, NY, contact Joe DiCesare, your local and long-time NY insurance agent to find out your best options.
Photo credit: capohanka