Mom & Dad: Read This !!

The Scary Facts
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that 16-year old drivers get in wrecks nearly nine times more often than those ages 20 or over.

For 17-year- olds, the rate is six times higher than the adult rate.

The American Automobile Association says that teens account for only 7 percent of all drivers, yet they're involved in 14 percent of all fatal auto accidents.

These are scary statistics for moms and dads accustomed to looking out for junior's safety.

Licensing Teens
Although most states still license their drivers at 16, it's not a magic number that indicates your teen is mature enough to get behind the wheel. For this reason twenty-three other states, have undergone some changes with respect to teen drivers.

Teens under age 18 are subject to a new system called graduated driver's licensing (GDL).

According to safety experts from the AAA, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the graduated driver's licensing program is the best way of getting teens to drive in more controlled conditions before full licensure.

The program requires young drivers to spend more time behind the wheel than ever before.

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Plenty of Practice
Teens now must have their learners permit for six months before applying for a provisional license. During the permit phase, they must log 20 hours of adult-supervised driving, with a parent or a certified driving instructor.They are also required to complete a 5 hour class.

Young drivers need to have experience. They have great reflexes, but they have no frame of reference to put their judgments in.

Under the new system teens can graduate to the next level and obtain their provisional license when they pass a road test.

Restrictions
With their provisional license, they can't transport passengers under 20 years old for the first six months. They also can't drive between midnight and 5 a.m. for the first year (with some exceptions for work). Both young passengers and late-night driving are considered high risk factors.

The provisional license is automatically updated to a full license on a teen's eighteenth birthday ­ as long as there are no violations, suspensions, or probation.

The first year after GDL became effective, the Insurance Institute found that the number of injury and fatal crashes involving 16 to 17-year-olds dropped nearly 13 percent.

What Can Parents Do?
Only you can decide whether or not your teen is ready to drive.

Once you give them the go-ahead, it's your responsibility to see that he or she learns the skills and possesses the maturity and responsibility needed to enter the driving community.

Once a teen obtains his permit, mom and dad have the daunting task of venturing out into a parking lot, street, or a deserted town for some practice or they can call a NY state licensed driving school.

While getting a driver's license is an exciting rite of passage for teens, it can be scary to parents, without the aid of dual brakes or a proper lesson plan, progress record or a student teachers guide. Especially on today's high traffic streets with all the nutty drivers out there.

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How Much Practice?
If your permit-wielding teen is not logging in 90 minutes or more of driving practice a week, you may be wasting valuable opportunities. Once he/she is roadworthy errands, shopping and after-school activities are perfect trips to practice around town under your supervision.

Ground Rules
Parents must set major ground rules.

As teens prepare to enter the community of drivers, set rules that are not open to debate.

Among them, teens must earn money to buy their gas and insurance. Our reasoning is if they weren't responsible enough to earn the money, they weren't mature enough to assume the responsibility of driving.

Take a look below for a few other guidelines parents can enforce with regard to when, where, and with whom teens should drive.

1. Set a limit of zero, of young passengers your teen transports ­ even after the provisional six months. Teens are likely to have trouble concentrating on the road with laughter, loud music, food, and other distractions, which increase with the number of young passenges.

2. Insist on seat belts. Teens tend to use their safety belts less than other drivers do. Insist that your teen and all passengers wear seat belts at all times.

3. Limit driving during high-risk times. Statistics tell us the highest numbers of driving crashes occur on Friday and Saturday nights. Limit your teen's driving during these peak times.

4. Take a hard stance on drugs and alcohol. Talk with your teen about driving under the influence and its consequences. Reinforce the seriousness of the issue.

5. Have your teen sign a safe driver's contract. Write up your own agreement to include seat belt use, drugs and alcohol issues, speeding, and other important rules of the road. Let your teen know what the repercussions are if he/she breaks the contract.

Driver's Ed
For decades, driver's education classes in high school were thought to help prevent accidents. Research has proved that driver education does not reduce crashes. This is because parents are under mistaken concept that drivers education provides a complete driver program. This is NOT the case.

Drivers Education only provides a SMALL introduction to traffic safety. Students in driver education are only provided with 6 hours of the 20 hours of behind the wheel instruction needed to become a safe driver.

Private driving lessons from licensed driving schools can help teens obtain the additional experience they need, in the safety of a duel controlled car with a professionals teacher armed with a proper lesson plan, progress record and a student teachers guide. The most important thing is giving teens experience behind the wheel.

Call Defensive Driving School Today... 631-234-5032