Buckle Your Safety Belts
Seven ways to make the road ahead safe for your teen driver.
by Terri Combs-Orme, Ph.D.
PARENTGUIDE News November 2005
Adolescent drivers have the highest rate of crashes of any
age group and are most likely to be involved in crashes involving
fatalities. One piece of good news: Graduated Drivers Licensing
(GDL) programs in most states reduced fatal crashes involving
teens by 23 percent between 1993 and 2003. Nevertheless, parents
still bear most of the responsibility for their children’s
driving. Here are seven things you can do to safety-proof your
teen driver:
As of 2003, 47 states had implemented some kind of graduated
licensing. Do you know the requirements of your state’s
system? All require a period of supervised driving before full
licensure, provisional licensing and restrictions on night driving.
Go to your state’s Web site for details. Daimler-Chrysler’s
Road Ready Teens program also offers a helpful guide: www.roadreadyteens.org/AboutTheProgram01.html.
Research shows that teens who are learning to drive are most
influenced not by what they hear in class, but by experiences
on the road. Also, not all schools offer driver’s education
classes today, and the remaining classes often provide minimal
driving experience.
Many GDL programs require parents to certify a certain number
of hours of supervised driving practice. Even if your state
does not, supervised driving is the best way to teach your teen
safety. Let him drive everywhere you go together, working up
to riskier locations (such as high-speed highways) and circumstances
(such as stormy weather). He will be out there alone soon enough.
Wouldn’t you rather his first experience driving on snow
be with you?
Research shows that adolescents have different expectations
than their parents about access to a car and other driving restrictions,
once licensed. So discuss your car plans and what your family
rules are during the permit stages.
Reinforce what your teen hears in driver’s education.
What did they talk about in class today— what does he
think about that? Talk about the dangers of speeding (teens’
most common risky driving behavior) and distractions such as
cell phones, radios and passengers in the car.
Even more important, take natural opportunities to discuss safe
driving. Point out drivers who are talking on their cell phones
while they drive and people who run yellow lights. Also point
out good driving habits, citing those who are courteous.
We found it useful to give our teen a running narrative when
he was a passenger. “All right, I’m keeping a longer
distance between me and the car in front because it’s
raining. If I have to stop suddenly, I’m likely to slide.”
Don’t worry about the rolling eyes— most teens are
happy to talk about driving anytime.
After a practice session, ask your teen driver what he thinks
he did well and what needs improvement. Give him your feedback
on both. Adolescents know that some things like driving and
drinking are dangerous, but they tend to over-estimate their
driving skills. Help them be realistic.
Graduated Drivers Licensing programs cannot address all teen
driving issues, making it crucial for parents to reach an informed
decision about the specific type vehicle a teen drives.
Parents tend to choose older, smaller vehicles for their adolescents
out of concern for cost and gas mileage. But you may want to
pay closer attention to safety issues. Think about size and
weight; heavier cars offer more protection in a crash. Look
for side airbags. Check out crash-test scores at www.edmunds.com/safety/new/index.html
and rollover risk at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Web site: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/. Don’t
be influenced by your teen’s desire for a cool, zippy
car, which might encourage risky driving.
Be especially vigilant the first few months your teen drives,
because that is the riskiest period.
Teens whose parents impose restrictions like late-night curfews
are involved in fewer crashes. Know where your teen is going,
with whom and when he will be home. If your teen violates your
rules, impose the penalties you’ve discussed in advance.
Teens have a low perceived risk of being in a crash and may
not moderate their driving out of fear of injury; however, they
do fear loss of privileges and freedom.
Of course, in addition to your rules, your state’s GDL
program will impose some rules that you must help enforce such
as night driving restrictions and limits on passengers. Take
your responsibilities to enforce these rules seriously and require
your teen to abide by them.
You might consider making a contract with your teen, outlining
driving restrictions, penalties and rewards for a “clean
record.” Many parents employ the Students Against Drunk
Driving (SADD) contract with their teens to prevent drinking
and driving. See www.saddonline.com/contract.htm.
6. Beware of impaired driving.
All parents worry about driving under the influence of alcohol
or drugs, but driving is also impaired by fatigue or mood. Teenagers’
sleep habits are not conducive to their being alert and rested,
and recent statistics show that driving while fatigued may be
as dangerous as driving drunk. Use a curfew to keep your teen
off the road during the risky, late-night hours, and watch his
sleep. If late-night studying leads to unusual fatigue, require
him to park his car until he is more alert.
Anger or depression can also impair driving. Don’t let
your teen leave the house in his car if he is too angry or distracted
to pay attention to his driving. (Again, talk about these issues
in advance.)
Teens exposed to dangerous driving habits by people they value
are less likely to consider dangerous driving as risky. Remember,
you are not just modeling obvious behaviors such as adhering
to the speed limit and stopping at red lights. Model courtesy,
too. Wave another driver on. Always wear your seat belt. Never
talk on your cell phone while you drive.
And remember who your teen’s other role models are, too.
Remind siblings, grandparents and even your teen’s friends
that they are role models for driving.
Although driving is part of growing up, it can make parents
very apprehensive. If you take it as seriously as you do the
other aspects of parenting, both you and your teen can come
through it successfully.
Terri Combs-Orme, Ph.D., is a professor in the College
of Social Work at the University of Tennessee, a researcher
in the area of children and families and the mother of an 18-year-old
son who has driven successfully without a crash for two years.
