Back to school season is here, and for many of the parents out there, this season is the first one for your teen children driving themselves to school. Car accidents are a leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 20. If your teen is driving other teens to school, then the risk of car accidents is dramatically increased. Knowing this, it is important to talk to your teen about safe driving practices. Here are some bits of wisdom that your teen needs to know before he or she hits the road.
KEEPING YOUR TEEN DRIVER SAFE
- Set some ground rules, and make sure your teen follows them. Things like never using a phone while driving, limiting the number of passengers your teen is allowed to transport and only allowing travel to pre-defined places, like work or school, are all good foundations.
- Practice safe driving behaviors yourself. By being a good role model, you can passively impart your own knowledge and behaviors to your teen.
- Talk to your teen about drunk and drugged driving.
- Speeding is a major contributor to fatal teen accidents. Because of this, it is important to encourage your teen to obey speed limits.
- Provide a lot of in-car supervision. Identifying unsafe or incorrect driving practices early is the best way to prevent those behaviors from becoming habit.
- Consider incentives for driving safe, such as paying for a tank of gas, helping with car insurance or more driving freedoms.
3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”