For teens, driving is a route to freedom and many young teens eagerly look forward to the day they can start the process of learning to drive. While many teens want to drive safely and carefully, however, there is sometimes pressure on young drivers to take risks. Pressure from friends and the attraction of trying to test the boundaries of freedom can unfortunately mean teen drivers can take risks which can lead them to car collisions in Hollywood or their community.
Fortunately, parents have a great deal of power when it comes to helping their young drivers stay safe on the roads. There are several ways you can drive home the message about safe driving:
- Be a good driver yourself. Actions speak louder than words, so when you show care in how you handle your vehicle, your children are more likely to follow suit. If you have some bad driving habits, make it a priority to get help to fix them, so your teens can see you are taking driving seriously.
- Start early. Your children see you driving and pick up cues about driving from an early age. When you are ferrying them around to school and activities, they are watching your behavior in the car. It’s never too early to start discussions about safe driving.
- Talk about the importance of safe driving regularly. Regularly talk about safe driving and make it a discussion instead of a lecture. Ask your teens what they think about safe driving and what they think makes a driver a safe driver. Ask why they think some people do not drive safely and what can be done about that. Seek out opinions and get them talking.
- Encourage your teens to get the message from someone they admire. Many celebrities do PSAs about safe driving. If your teen’s favorite celebrity has a good driving record or has done these PSAs, emphasize that fact.
- Have teens sign an agreement. Create an agreement which outlines specific dangerous behaviors. Develop this document with your teen’s input and then sign it together. Telling your teen to “drive safely” is vague but putting specifics on paper can make it more real and easier to remember.
- Put rules in place and have serious consequences for breaking them. If your new driver drives under the influences, breaks curfew, takes the car without permission, speeds, or engages in other dangerous behaviors, there should be consequences. This may mean losing driving privileges for a while or it may mean having to take additional driver training.
- Limit the number of passengers your teens can have. Teen passengers have been linked to more risk-taking among young drivers, with the risks rising with the number of passengers. Adult passengers, on the other hand, can improve good behaviors. You may want to limit teen passengers in your teen’s car or you may have a rule requiring an adult be present whenever there are younger passengers in the car.
If your teen has been in a car accident, contact a Hollywood car accident attorney to discuss the case and to get the fair compensation you may be entitled to. You can always contact the Hollywood, Homestead, or Miami offices of Flaxman Law Group if you would like to speak to an attorney in a free, no obligation consultation.