FAQs
OCTOBER 3, 2007, 1:02 PM
How to Keep Your Teens Safe Behind the Wheel
Parents of teen drivers may be shopping for safer cars, but research studies show that parents can help their kids become safer drivers in any car.
Since the mid-1990’s, states have been enacting graduated driver’s licensing programs that, among other things, extend the learning period, prohibit teens from driving with other teens and impose curfews against late-night driving. Those laws have provided a wealth of data about how to make teens into safer drivers. Since 1993, fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers have dropped 23 percent, according to the Journal of Safety Research.
Even so, teens are involved in about twice as many crashes as 30- to 59-year-olds, and teens are still more likely to make mistakes and to speed with passengers in the car. The problem is, the judgment and skill for safe driving develop only after years of practice. The challenge is to let teens practice but under conditions that will prevent them from making fatal mistakes.
Here’s what science shows parents can do to help keep their teen drivers safe.
Make sure your teen is rested. In a recent Virginia Tech study, researchers put recording devices and video cameras in cars driven by teens who had just gotten their licenses. They found that when the kids crashed, it was often because they were impaired by fatigue. They made judgment errors, didn’t recognize hazards and were indecisive. And all these mistakes were compounded because the teens hadn’t had much practice behind the wheel.
Ban cellphones. The same study showed that cell phone use by teen drivers is often a factor in accidents.
Don’t let teens drive or ride with other teens. A Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health study found that a teen’s risk of dying in a car accident jumps when other teens are in the car. A 16-year-old carrying one teen passenger was 39 percent more likely to die. The risk jumped to 86 percent with two teens in the car, and with three or more occupants, the risk of death nearly doubled.
Don’t let teens drive at night. Research consistently shows that night is the riskiest time for teen drivers. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study that compared teen accident rates before and after new night driving rules were imposed in North Carolina. Nighttime accidents involving 16-year-olds fell by more than 40 percent.
Impose strict rules. It’s inconvenient to impose limits on a teen’s driving because it means more driving for parents. But studies show that teens are safer when parents monitor where their kids go and who rides with them. In one study of 3,700 parents and teens, kids who were subject to the rules of the Checkpoints Parent-Teen Driving Agreement had fewer traffic violations and drove more safely.
For more information on how to talk to teen drivers about safety, visit the National Safety Council site on teen driving.