Teaching Teen Driver Safety

Teen drivers are the number one age group that is involved in vehicle accidents.  The statistics about teens and accidents go on and on, and they are astounding.  According for The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teens, accounting for 36 percent of all deaths in the age group.  The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group, and per-miles-driven teens ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.   IIHS statistics also show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.  Parents have a large responsibility in preparing their teens to drive, instead of just adding them to the family insurance policy and handing over the keys. They should know every time their child is driving and where they are going.  They should also be aware that, although one day seminars may help, it takes weeks of conversation and driving with your teen for them to be truly ready.

The number of teens on the road is increasing, and the risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  Considering this, it can be expensive to add a teen driver to an insurance policy. Further more, according to a recent report from AAA, car accidents involving drivers 15 to 17 cost society more than $34 billion in medical expenses, property damage and related costs in 2006.

AAA has also been instrumental in advocating graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems that ease teens into driving in three stages: a supervised learner’s-permit period, an intermediate license that limits driving in certain situations except under supervision and finally a license with full privileges. Under GDL requirements, many states restrict teens from driving at night or with more than one teen passenger in the car. A handful of states have comprehensive GDL systems, with substantive night-driving and passenger limits and mandatory practice times for teens. But the vast majority has gaps.

This all goes to show how essential teen driver training is.  While kids spend many more hours a week training at sports, only 50 hours of driving experience is for a driver’s license in some states.   Parents, educators, and teens themselves are beginning to realize the need for more instruction before a license is obtained.  Special ‘schools’ are popping up everywhere, offering teens those extra hours needed.  Courses blend classroom and behind-the-wheel experiences.  A class may, for example, have the teens study the dynamics of driving, learn accident avoidance skills, and practice driving in emergency situations.  They are also taught how to drive in a variety of foul weather conditions.  Another key skill that may be taught is how to become more aware of traffic situations and to look far enough ahead to anticipate the actions of other drivers.  Students maneuver their own cars through a course laid out with orange traffic cones in closed parking lots. Participants repeat the exercise several times to learn from their mistakes and to improve their skills.  The ‘schools’ are often one day programs, some are free and some can cost up to a few hundred dollars. There are many steps to be taken to make teen drivers safer.  It involves not only teens themselves, but also their parents, lawmakers, and teachers.  Working together is the only way to decrease the astounding statistics surrounding teen drivers.