Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
New drivers and young drivers face a number of obstacles in the first few years of driving. They may still be developing their skills and in some cases they may face peer pressure from friends to take risks behind the wheel. In addition, some teen drivers haven’t yet found their confidence in driving.
Teen drivers may not yet be familiar with driving around other types of vehicles, such as commercial trucks. Sharing the road with larger vehicles is a crucial skill to learn. Truck accidents in Hollywood and Florida claim far too many lives each year and these accidents can lead to devastating, permanent injuries as well.
If you have a new driver in your family, there are many things you can do to ensure they can drive around tankers, big rigs, and tractor-trailers safely:
1) Talk to your teen about sharing the road with trucks.
Young drivers taking drivers education classes cover a lot of topics, including turns, parallel parking, highway driving, safety, and more. It’s possible that something like driving beside large trucks may get lost in information overload.
It’s useful to review the basics of driving around trucks and to emphasize the importance of leaving extra room around large vehicles. Talk about the dangers of squeeze play accidents in Hollywood and South Florida and make sure your teen knows to stay out of blind spots and to give turning trucks plenty of room to complete their turns.
2) Take your teen on drives on highways and in other areas where they might encounter tractor-trailers.
This lets you see how calmly your teen is able handle large trucks. If your teen is nervous or doesn’t seem to know what to do, it’s important to know this so you can arrange for extra classes or one-on-one instruction from driving professionals. Getting some practical hands-on experience with you or another adult in the car can help teens hone their skills.
3) Have your teen sign no drinking and no distraction pledges.
Truck accidents are far more likely if your teen is drinking or texting or is otherwise distracted while behind the wheel. Make sure your teen takes drinking and driving and distracted driving very seriously.
4) Sign your teen up for additional driving classes.
The minimum requirement for driver’s education will teach your child the basics of driving a car. However, to develop skills and to take care of any bad habits before they have a chance to stick, it’s important to get additional driving classes. If you’re concerned about how your teen handles driving around trucks, get one-on-one classes where the instructor can focus on sharing the road with tankers, tractor-trailers, and other larger vehicles.
5) Let your teen earn driver privileges gradually.
Consider banning teen passengers until your teen masters driving alone or with an adult passenger. Consider letting your teen drive only during daylight hours or during designated hours until you are confident that they are safe on the road. Gradually let your teen enjoy more and more freedoms behind the wheel as they show they can be trusted with the responsibility.
If you or your young driver is injured in a trucking or car accident in Hollywood or anywhere in South Florida, you can always contact Flaxman Law Group for a free, no obligation case review.