Want to raise your blood pressure? Teach a teenager the way to drive. No doubt you’ve been coaching them on safe driving techniques if you’re intending to let your youngster on the road. Of course, if the safety of your own progeny isn’t enough, avoiding normal teen driving mistakes will keep your automobile insurance rates low. Here are seven tips for parents to help maintain their sanity:
Start Young
Transportation would be wise to be a part of life. Teach small children about travel, and speak with them intelligently about driving from a young age. Emphasize some great benefits of responsible travel behavior and safety. Bonus points for including energy emissions and conservation in the conversation.
Drive With Pride
Drive responsibly when with your child, and have conversations regarding the driving process. Your driving will set the example for your teen. Explain when someone (including yourself) commits a driving offense, but avoid giving directly into road rage.
Make Your Negatives Positive
If you’ve reached criticize a young driver, do it in the positive way. Offer positive feedback first, then proceed to corrective comments. Your main goal is to empower your teen to drive safely and competently, not to scold. Try asking questions with regards to their decision-making process versus screaming at them on the crowded highway.
Outsource It
If you don’t feel comfortable teaching your teen to drive, enlist (read: pay) a friend or tutor to act as a mentor. Better yet, send your child to driver’s education school. Before letting your teen loose in the open road, just make sure you already know your state’s requirements.
Monitor Unnecessary Driving
A young driver should concentrate on gaining meaningful road experience, but they’re likely to have their eyes on a different prize. If they’re not ready – especially if they are very likely to have teen passengers or access to alcohol, Don’t let your teen drive to social events. Motor vehicle crashes account for more than one-third of most teen deaths, and crashes are more common with teen passengers in the car.
Find Ease With all the Five Keys
The Smith System is some driving techniques encouraging intuitive, proactive decisions. The system’s “Five Keys” are as follows: 1) look far ahead; 2) get the overall picture; 3) keep the eyes moving; 4) leave yourself a traffic out; 5) make sure other drivers view you.
Nothing Tops Blood on the Highway
It’s a gruesome truth. Be as sensitive that you can, but don’t think twice about firm discussions together with your teen regarding driving safety. Even service agency AT&T is buying commercial time on tv to share distracted driving horror stories from accident victims and their families. Distracted driving accounts for 6,000 highway deaths annually, and teenagers are involved in 3 times the fatal crashes of other age ranges. Educate and teach your young driver to exercise proper care and caution when alone on the open road. Discover more about teen driving facts here.