Tips for Teen Driving Safety
Written By Savvy Auntie Staff Writers
Are you ever worried about your teen niece or nephew driving alone? Well, believe it or not, car crash risk actually goes up when teens drive with other teens in the car. The National Institute of Health's MedlinePlus reports that teen drivers are more likely to become distracted when there is a passenger seat companion. Our teen nephews are twice as likely to drive aggressively with a passenger and "six times more likely to pull an illegal move before crashing." Our nieces fair a little better, but a recent study showed something going in the car was distracting them before they crashed.
While parents are known to have the strongest influence on teen driving safety, as their 'cool aunt', you may be able to influence safer driving habits as well. And let's be frank. Teens may not listen to mom and dad, but they may listen to you.
First, review these tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to help keep teen drivers safe, so you're in the know.
Next, tell your teen nieces and nephews what causes car crashes among their peers. Informed teens are safer teens.
Offer to help extend their supervised driving time. Practice makes perfect and sometimes parents run out of time. Offer to ride in the passenger seat to help your niece or nephew get more practice.
Set a good example. As Aunties, we tote our nieces and nephews from one place to the other from the time they are tiny tots into their teen years and beyond. They watch what we do, so drive safely.
Published March 13, 2012