Category Archive: Parents

Helpful Tips for Parents of New Teen Drivers

July 6, 2007

Ok, listen up parents! It is up to you to help your teenager become a better driver. That means some sacrifices on not only their part but yours as well. In other words, you have to take the time for extra instruction (besides what a driving school will go over). After all, aren’t a few extra hours a good investment in your teen’s future?

While your teen is ultimately responsible for his or her driving, you can help lay the building blocks for a safe, spotless driving record. Now before getting into the different helpful tips, just remember this: lead by example. How do you expect your own teenager to obey traffic laws on important safety measures if you don’t do the same? That means no unnecessary speeding, no rolling through stop signs and no multi-tasking while driving.

Ok, with the mini-lecture over, here are some of those helpful tips you should consider when teaching your teenager how to drive:

Begin your first driving lesson by not leaving your driveway. Go over each and every button, lever and knob that your teen driver would have to operate. Go through simulations on how to use them, especially without looking. Obviously, the safest recourse on the road is to operate those gadgets without taking your eyes off the road.
Don’t rush progress. Automatically hopping into a busy neighborhood or even on the highway is a no-no with new drivers. Choose a large parking lot and set up cones in different configurations. Practice backing up into a parking space; learn parallel parking. Practice driving in reverse.
Once the parking lot trials are over, segue into streets with light traffic. You may have to get up early in the morning or try later in the evening to avoid the heavy commuter traffic or lunch time traffic.
After you feel comfortable with your teen’s driving on light traffic streets, take a valium (just kidding!) and start your teen’s first lesson on the highway.
Keep in mind that your teenager will feel self-conscious driving with you at first. Foster an open communication with him or her. Ask questions that need replies. This will keep the comments rolling.
Plan your driving journeys in advance and give your teenager advance warning when he or she needs to turn.
Most importantly, keep your cool. You teen will not be an effective driver if you get upset.

Many of the helpful tips above are easy to remember and much of it is common sense. However, it does bear repeating as often as necessary. And while you are teaching your teenager to drive, start looking into driving schools for them so they can gather even more experience in a safe setting without your presence.

Create your own customized Parent-Teen Driving Contract online based on the recommendations from the Driver Education Handbook for Parents. Our interactive tool will help you and your teen compose a practical contract of rules regarding driving expectations and car privileges that both parties can agree on.

A Lesson a Driver-in-Training Will Never Forget

July 2, 2007

We all know that inexperienced teen drivers are dangerous to themselves and others. The statistics are very real. Auto crashes are the number one killer of young people, and yet teens continue to believe the worst won’t or can’t happen to them. For most teens, it would take the worst happening to them to learn about safe driving the hard way. That is exactly what happened to one teenager last week, in a tragic turn of events that will most likely haunt his life forever.

A 15-year-old teen driver from Oroville, California, killed his own mom when his driving inexperience led to a horrific crash. The Northern California teen driver was behind the wheel of the family car, being given driving lessons, when a maneuver he made caused the car to crash into a drainage ditch 10 feet wide and 5 feet deep. In the front passenger seat was his stepfather, while his mom and her new baby were in the backseat.

All escaped with minor injuries, except for the teen’s mother, who was pronounced dead at the hospital. The teen suffered cuts to his hand, while his stepfather fractured his collarbone. The baby in the back seat was unharmed. Though all were wearing seat belts, the force of the collision combined with lack of airbags in the backseat resulted in the injuries to the teen’s mother.

How could such a sad event unfold? Apparently, while driving around, the teen’s stepfather made the remark to “turn right here.” Unfortunately, inexperience means that the teen probably misunderstood the instructions to take a right turn as instructions to turn right away, or right now. This miscommunication came at a huge cost.

While it is easy to see how an crash such as this occurred, it is another reminder of how big a role lack of experience plays in the deadliness of crashes caused by teen drivers. It makes one wonder if driving lessons and all hours of training behind a wheel should be done on controlled courses. However, in that instance, teens wouldn’t gain the experience that teaches them what it’s really like to deal with the distractions and frustrations of real-world driving.

There is no doubt in my mind that this young man will feel at fault in his mother’s death, though it seems to me to be nothing more than a very tragic, ill-timed crash.

Take a Contract Out with your Teenager

June 15, 2007

The statistics have been repeated often enough – car accidents account as the biggest killer of teenagers in the country. The recent article in The Tribune states that parents could be unwittingly contributing to the cause of these accidents. How? It’s easy enough to figure out. Not that many parents have strict guidelines for their teens in regards to driving.

Parents – it is your job to communicate the rules of the road and by that, the article meant those rules that you don’t learn in a driver’s education course. With teenagers, you cannot assume anything. You may think they understand that texting and driving at the same time is dangerous. However, you have to actually vocalize it in order for them to recognize and remember it.

The same thought applies to a number of different scenarios. That is why the recent article in The Tribune states that parents should have a contract with their teenage driver. If there is a special set of delineated rules that both parents and teenagers should follow, there is less chance of failure. The key to success is for parents to work with their teens to create these rules together. Parents – you may be pleasantly surprised at how many teenagers “get it”. They just have to practice “it”.

While many parents and teens know how the basic rules should be, it doesn’t hurt to review them again. For instance, not that many teenagers may realize that night driving is particularly hazardous to a fairly new driver. What they should know is that seat belts are a must. Teenagers should not even put the car in gear unless each and every person was wearing a seat belt, even the friends in the back seat.

For the ultimate contract with your teenager, you as the parent must promise to adhere to the same rules. In other words, you have to be a good driving role model for your teenager. Of course, most adults are set in their ways, so it will actually take more effort on your part to keep your act together while driving on the road. Can you keep both eyes on the road and avoid using your cell phone while driving? Will you be able to adhere to all driving laws and avoid those California rolls through stop signs and blatant red light running?

As parents, you should not wait to convey all of these driving rules of the road. Start talking about safe driving practices with your kids before they get old enough to drive. And practice what you preach. That is the bottom line to maintain driving legitimacy in your teen’s eyes.

Project Note Home in Wyoming Should Keep Teens on the Straight and Narrow

June 7, 2007

The state of Wyoming has implemented a great new plan called “Project Note Home.” It seems that new teenage drivers tend to not share the fact that they receive traffic tickets with their parents. Shocking, isn’t it? In fact, parents are pretty much clueless until the next insurance bill comes along. However, with “Project Note Home,” any traffic infraction gets communicated to the parents.

Keeping parents in the loop about their teen’s driving record is a smart move for the state. Too often, teens have found out ways to pay for their tickets without their parents finding out about it. These teens are not being held accountable for their actions. What are a few bucks in fines compared to having their driving privileges suspended? Well, with this new program, copies of the traffic violation are being sent home to the parents. Teenagers will now have no way to hide their driving violations.

No longer will parents be shocked to find their teen’s auto insurance bill going up several hundred dollars. Now, they will know exactly why – their teenagers are not practicing safe driving practices. You can bet that a lot more teenagers will experience suspended driving privileges as a result of “Project Note Home.”

There is a side benefit to this new program as well. It could very well save the lives of many teenager drivers. It’s a proven fact that the biggest death toll in car accidents every year fall within the fifteen to twenty year old range. Teenagers are inexperienced. They have not come across every driving situation experience yet. With that inexperience come potential problems.

By being held accountable for every infraction while behind the wheel of a car, teenagers will soon learn to shape up their habits. Speeding is one of the biggest violations on the road along with not wearing a seat belt. Both of these infractions can kill. By alerting parents to the fact that their teenagers are not engaging in safe driving behaviors, this will open a dialogue between the parent and the teen. They will be forced to talk about the situation and perhaps, a lesson or two will be learned.

Teaching Teens to Drive: MetLife Offers Five Simple Tips

May 22, 2007

Many parents probably remember the day their teen received their learner’s permit and first asked to borrow the family car. For moms and dads, it can be scary to think of their children out on the road. If you taught them well, you can be assured they’ll make the right decisions when behind the wheel, but you can’t always count on other drivers to be responsible and safe. As parents, you may not be able to be with your children every waking hour, making sure they do the right thing, but if you have trained them well, then letting go of some control over them gets easier.

This is especially true when it comes time to teaching your teen to drive. Considering that auto-related accidents are the leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 20 years, it is so important for parents to be a part of their teen’s driving education. Studying good driving habits from a trusted adult has proven to help save the lives of many teens during their first year of driving. Lack of education and experience both contribute to poor decision making by teens, and parents can help with both.

According to insurance company MetLife Auto & Home, there are a few simple steps you can take to help your teen while learning to drive:

– Be a good driving example. Your children won’t always do what you say, but they will do what you do. If you teach them to follow speed limit signs, wear a seatbelt, and be sober — you better be prepared to follow up your words with actions. Even at an early age, children absorb what goes on around them. Being a responsible and safe driver will help your teens learn by example.

– Get a view from the passenger’s side. It’s easy to be a “backseat driver” when you forget what it’s like to be a passenger. If you’re the one always behind the wheel, take a trip with someone in the passenger seat, so you remember what it’s like to be a passenger under normal conditions. That way, when your teen drives you around, you’ll know it’s normal for mailboxes to whiz by at the edge of the road.

– Short and patient lessons are best. When lessons are short, your teen is more likely to remember all that was covered. Also, it leaves less time for either one of you to become frustrated and impatient. You want to end your lessons on a good note, so keep it short and simple.

– Write down your progress. Some states require you to record the number of hours spent behind the wheel with your teen, so it makes sense to keep a log of the dates you train, what you covered, and how long you spent. You can also keep track of what needs improving upon, so that it can be covered again on a future date.

– Keep your eyes open and voice down. Everyone knows that teenagers get defensive when their parents get angry, and loud voices and criticisms are sure to have the same effect. When riding in the passenger seat, it’s best for parents to remain calm. At the same time, keeping an eye out for hazards or irresponsible drivers is important. Alert your teen to any dangers, and even if they are able to avoid them, teach them about the importance of defensive driving and being prepared for the unexpected.

An information guide, “Teaching Your Teens to Drive (Without Driving Each Other Crazy!),” is available from MetLife Auto & Home by calling 1-800-MET-LIFE.