How to Make Sure Your Teen Is Ready for the Road

Driving is a significant milestone for teens and their parents. However, driving is also risky. As a parent, you must thoroughly address the subject of safety with your kids. Here are a few ways to make sure your teen is ready to drive responsibly.

Finding the Right Vehicle for Your Teen Driver

Modern vehicles come with an array of important safety features. Airbags, advanced seatbelt technology, and higher quality materials mean your teen is more likely than ever to walk away from a crash. At the same time, choosing the safest vehicle possible for a new driver can make a difference in accident odds and outcomes.

Because teen drivers are easily distracted, you may not want your new driver borrowing the family van or SUV to carry friends around. A smaller sedan is economical and efficient but also minimizes passenger distractions. Buying a new vehicle ensures your teenager has the most advanced safety options out there, but a used car may be more affordable.

Getting Insurance for a New Driver

Drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 are far more likely to be involved in a crash than other groups. Teenagers also earn more traffic citations on average. Insurance companies recognize that teens involve higher risk, so premiums can be expensive for your new driver. Plus, your child’s gender and your geographical location also influence your car insurance costs.

Fortunately, many insurers offer discounts and bundles like safe driver rate reductions, multi-vehicle discounts, and even rebate programs for teens who get good grades. Shop around for the best rates possible and get multiple quotes before committing to an insurance company.

Learning to Maintain the Vehicle

Although oil changes and tire pressure checks come with most vehicle maintenance plans these days, knowing how to DIY is vital for teen drivers. Teach your teen the basics, such as how to check and fill the tires, top off and replace the oil, and change a tire on the side of the road.

Invest in an emergency roadside kit with flares, a flashlight, jumper cables, and other necessary items. Depending on where you live (and where your teen drives), you may also want to include a first aid kit and survival items like bottled water, shelf-stable food, and a blanket.

Discuss Common Safety Hazards

When your teen is a brand-new driver, anything on the road can be dangerous. However, one of the most hazardous parts of teen driving is distracted driving — using phones behind the wheel. Other on-road obstacles contribute to the danger, too.

Smartphone Use While Behind the Wheel

According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Teen Driver Source, using a cell phone reduces your brain’s focus on driving by 37 percent. Further, high school students who often texted while driving admitted to other dangerous activities like failing to wear a seatbelt and riding with someone who has been drinking.

Although phones can prove unsafe in many scenarios, they can also be handy. Your teenager does need their phone for communication — emergency and otherwise — and for GPS purposes. But how can you ensure their safety while on the road?

In addition to great battery life (which is perfect for when your teen forgets to charge their phone before heading out), Apple phones like the iPhone 11 Pro Max have safety settings to prevent usage when you’re behind the wheel. Additionally, Android users can activate Driving Mode to help keep distractions to a bare minimum.

Other Road Hazards

Many new drivers enroll in driver’s education courses to learn the basics or even tactics like defensive driving. And parents can help prepare their kids further for potential hazards. For example, your neighborhood may have deer or other large animals that pose a crash risk. Most drivers reflexively swerve when they spot an animal in the road, but the Insurance Information Institute cautions you to stay in your lane and brake firmly instead.

Driving is both a rite of passage, as well as a big risk. However, with the right tools and preparation, your teenager can learn to navigate the road safely and wisely.

Thanks to our friends at Safe Children for contributing this blog.

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