8 Tips to Help Prevent Teen Driver Accidents
6 Aug 2024Teen drivers are inherently at a greater risk of getting in an accident on the road. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in America.
By following these tips, you can significantly reduce the risk of your teen getting into a road accident.
1. Be a good role model.
Even if your teen is someone who likes to rebel and wants to be different from you as their parent or guardian, they’ll pick up on your behaviors and consciously or subconsciously incorporate them into their daily habits.
In some of the tips below, it’s important that you demonstrate the same behaviors when you’re driving. For example, you shouldn’t expect them to use a seat belt if you never do.
2. Buckle up.
Seat belts save lives. The best way to ensure your teen uses a seat belt is to create a habit of reminding them or asking them to buckle up every time they get in the car. If there are multiple people in a vehicle, make sure everyone is buckled up before driving off, no matter how short or familiar the ride is.
3. Stress the dangers of distracted driving.
Distracted driving accounted for over 3,000 deaths in 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The most common form of distracted driving is texting while driving, but other forms include:
- Eating and drinking
- Putting on makeup
- Using the stereo
- Checking your navigation system
- Talking to someone in the car or on the phone
- Anything that diverts attention away from the road
Your teen may think it’s no big deal to text while driving, so make sure they know that it’s unacceptable, and set up consequences if they get caught while driving distracted.
4. Limit the number of passengers.
As we mentioned above, one form of distracted driving comes from talking to other people in the vehicle. To avoid distractions, you may want to limit how many passengers they can have in their vehicle at a given time.
5. Follow speed limits.
Set a good example by following the speed limits, and tell your teen they should always do the same.
6. Set a curfew for nighttime driving.
Nighttime driving is dangerous for everybody, especially inexperienced teen drivers. Ensure they have plenty of practice driving at night before they set off on their own. Even then, you should consider implementing a curfew to reduce late-night driving.
Tell them if they are ever feeling sleepy on the road, they should safely pull over and get some rest.
7. Prohibit impaired or drunk driving.
Set serious consequences if they get caught driving impaired due to drugs or alcohol.
8. Use GPS Trackers.
GPS trackers allow you to monitor the location and driving behaviors of your teen. With a GPS tracker, you can know where your teen is at all times, if they’re driving safely, and you can receive alerts immediately if they ever get into an accident.
If you’re thinking about getting a GPS tracking for your teenager, give us a call and we can help you to select the right teen tracker for you. 1-888-544-0494
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