Parents of teenage drivers should be afraid — even “very afraid,” advises Bruce Feiler in a recent New York Times article. He says that much of his parenting advice to motivated parents is to worry less.
But when it comes to teen drivers, parents are not worried enough.
He quotes Nichole Morris of the HumanFIRST Laboratory at the University of Minnesota, “If you’re going to have an early, untimely death, the most dangerous two years of your life are between 16 and 17 and the reason for that is driving.”
Motor vehicle accidents cause more deaths in teens than cancer or all other accidents.
“Cars have gotten safer, roads have gotten safer but teen drivers have not.”
In 2013 almost 1 million teens were in police-reported auto crashes. Charlie Klauer of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute estimates one out of four teens will be in a car crash within six months of starting driving. Six teenagers die in or from a car crash every day.
What raises the risks for teen drivers? What I call the big, bad Ds: 1) Driving when young and inexperienced. 2) Driving while distracted by cell phones or passengers. 3) Driving while drunk (or on drugs).
Just being young and being a new and inexperienced driver raises the risk. Wise parents, even those who live in states without graduated driver’s licenses, ride with their child for at least six months before allowing solo trips.
It takes time to hone the skills taught in Driver’s Education, to encounter and handle new driving experiences, and for “driving judgment” to develop. Driving at night needs even longer parental supervision.
Cell phones are a huge distraction to teenage drivers. Klauer’s studies show that even when teens know they are being monitored by video cameras they text, talk or go on Facebook at least once every trip — even on a short trip of only a few blocks. If I were parenting a teen driver today and learned that he or she texted while driving I would confiscate the phone and the car.
Other passengers distract (graduated driver’s licenses restrict passengers for new drivers). Teen friends are loud and boisterous and the more there are of them in a car the higher the crash risk.
According to Morris, adding one non-family member passenger increases the crash risk by 44 percent. The risk doubles with an additional passenger.
Alcohol and drugs compound the young driver problem. Almost a third of all fatal car crashes involve an intoxicated driver and one quarter of teen fatalities involve underage drinking. More men than women drive while under the influence of alcohol or a drug and young drivers aged 18 to 25 are more likely to drive after taking drugs than those in other age groups.
My advice to parents of teens — or those about to be — starts here: Be a good role model of a safe driver.
I cringe when I see parents carefully strap a young child in an approved car seat in the back but start using their cell phone before the car leaves the parking lot. Our children have a bad habit of doing what we do, not what we say. So nip your own bad habits in the bud. Do not drive while drinking or let your child ride with anyone who is drinking or on drugs. Do not text or call while driving.
Good judgment may not be fully developed in humans before the mid to late 20s, but teaching how to make wise/safe/considerate decisions in life starts early. Be involved with your children’s paths toward good judgment.
Talk about dumb decisions and how to avoid them using examples from your own life, current events or books. No matter how good one’s driving skills are, if you don’t use good judgment while driving, you put yourself and others at risk.
Do not assume that passing Driver’s Ed is the end of the process; it is only the beginning. Continue to drive with your child (Bonus: you not only observe driving skills and habits but you have one-on-one time with your teen!). Keep discussing safe driving and asking questions of your new teen drivers. Praise good driving decisions and practices you notice. And comment on lapses (“You did not use your turn signal”).
Tell other parents when you notice their child driving unwisely and ask them to reciprocate. Also tell your new teen drivers that you expect them to love themselves as much as you love them, and that you trust them. However, if they don’t drive safely there will be consequences — and they should be very afraid of them.
