National Teen Driver Safety Week
Keys to the car are keys to freedom for your teen. However, the U.S. Department of Transportation tells us that inexperienced teen drivers should follow these five rules to stay safe behind the wheel:
- Buckle Up: Wearing a safety belt— properly— is one of the safest choices drivers and passengers can make.
- Impede the Need for Speed: While drivers of all ages may drive at speeds above the posted limit, young people, particularly the guys, are more likely to be in accidents in which speed is a factor.
- Don’t Get Overloaded: Research shows that the risk of a fatal crash goes up in direct relation to the number of passengers in a car. The likelihood of teen drivers engaging in risky behavior triples when traveling with multiple passengers. And, the law limits the number and type of passengers a teen can have in the car.
- Famous Last Words: LOL. SMH. Those shouldn’t be anyone’s last words. Distracted driving is a deadly problem. When a driver is texting (or pulling up a new playlist, eating a burrito, or otherwise multitasking), he or she is not concentrating on the road.
- Impaired = Accidents: Underage drinkers (and those under the influence of drugs) who drive are a risk to themselves, their passengers, and other folks on the road.
Have a conversation with your student driver (or soon-to-be-driver) to share your expectations for safe driving and go over these important rules and the driving laws in the state of Georgia. Check out this Georgia’s Teen Driver/Parent Agreement, a tool promoted by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety in Georgia. And know that your teen is watching you for cues as you model the driving behavior you want your young driver to emulate.