How to Tell Your Teens the Importance of Safe Driving

Finally, it’s graduation time. Every year, June comes with excitement not only for many teens but their families as well. Graduation is of course an important step towards the future and also it is a good time to tell your teens the importance of safe and distraction free driving.

Car accidents are one the major reasons of deaths among teenagers. According to a study, the risk of accident is four time higher for teens (16-19 Years old) as compared to the older drivers. You, as parents can minimize the risks of accidents by guiding your teens how to drive safe on the road.

Before you teen gets busy with the graduation session, have some productive discussions with them about the safe and accident free driving. For your convenience here are five safely tips you can share with your teens.

1- Over speeding or Excessive Speeding:

Excessive driving is not only bad for the car but it is also one of the top five mistakes teens make while driving and results into car crashes. Speeding worsens the severity of a crash but also gives very less time to drive to react to the circumstances. It is very important to tell your teens that even if they are getting late to college, speeding is not acceptable. It can result into an accident and also they can be ticketed, both the cases are not worth it.

2- Passenger Distractions:

When teens are with their friends while driving, chances of accidents are higher, a study reveals. Tell your teens to limit the number of passengers in their cars to one or two, especially if they are driving at night.

3- Night Time and Weekends:

A study shows that more than 50 percent of the total deaths because of the road crashes occur on the weekends between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Driving at night is more difficult because of less visibility also it worsens the situation when an intoxicate motorist is driving the vehicle. Most of the college parties and other ceremonies are held in the evening so, there are chances that your teen would be driving at night. It is important to restrict them from driving a lot at night. Sometimes, it is unavoidable to drive at night, it is a better option to ask your teens to call or text your teens when they reach their destination.

4- Use of Mobile Phone:

Guide your teen to pull over to the side of the road if they receive any call or have to reply to a text message. Never pick up any call or text while driving. It can increase the chances of an accident. Using mobile phone is not only illegal in many states and countries but it also increases the chances of a car crash.

5- Other illegal activities:

You should encourage your child to stay away for illegal activities i.e. drinking, drugs. You should be very open with your child and discuss with them about how severe it could be if they are intoxicated and driving. Make sure that they are not driving even if they had one drink. Provide your teens with some extra money so, in case they can’t drive, a cab should be an option for them. Just because they run out of cash, you cannot risk their lives.