Sign a summer contract with their
young driver.
Parents must
make it clear that driving is a privilege,
not a right. Experts urge parents to clearly
define the expectations and requirements
associated with being allowed to drive,
and the consequences for violating them.
Require young drivers to sign a contract
accepting the conditions, and stick to
them.
Click
here for more information on
driving contracts.
Make time to supervise driving practice.
Driving
is a learned skill acquired with much
practice. Teen drivers significantly reduce
their risk of crashing if they have logged
in at least 50 hours
of supervised driving before driving
alone. A similar amount of supervised
practice is needed before driving alone
at night.
Introduce the driving privilege gradually.
Allow
independent driving only after much practice
and for limited amounts of time and in
low-traffic situations on familiar roads.
Grant other privileges, such as driving
for longer periods, on busier roads, at
night, in inclement weather, or with passengers
later and gradually, as the driver acquires
more experience.
Limit your child
from
riding with
inexperienced drivers.
Your
child may be in equal or greater danger
as a passenger riding with an inexperienced
driver. Many teenagers die as passengers
in motor vehicles. Fifty-nine percent
of teenage passenger deaths in 2003
occurred in vehicles driven by another
teenager. Know who is driving your
child, what his driving record and
experience are, and how his driving
privilege is regulated by his parents.
Teach your child to be a good passenger,
avoiding driver distraction and insisting
on safe driving practices.
Reduce
distractions,
including limiting passengers.
Cell
phones, radios, CD players, mp3 players,
and passengers all can be deadly distractions.
Express your expectation that your child
not use a cell phone while driving and
regulate the use of music players, restricting
music entirely for the first six months
of independent driving. Research confirms
that the already increased crash risk for
teen drivers rises with each additional
passenger. According to a Johns Hopkins
University study, the crash rate is four
times higher when there are three or more
passengers than when the teen is driving
alone. Teens should be permitted to drive
passengers (other than a supervising adult)
only after much experience and practice.
Set ground rules and discuss them with
likely passengers.
