TEEN DRIVER SAFETY

The statistics associated with fatal and catastrophic personal injuries with teens operating motor vehicles is staggering. The thought of your teenager behind the wheel can be a scary thought…and it should be. According to the Institute for Highway Safety, teenagers are ten (10) times more likely to get involved in a motor vehicle crash than drivers between the ages of thirty (30) and fifty-nine (59). Before parents allow a teenager access to any motor vehicle, safe driving tips should be considered. Teen driver safety tips that should be considered include:

Know Traffic Laws: Even though a teen driver may have passed a driving course and obtained his or her license, driving laws should be reviewed and re-reviewed often, particularly for a young driver. Keep a copy of the relevant driver’s handbook available for review and reference. Ask your teenager specific questions about various traffic laws. Provide your teenager hypothetical situations that they might face on the roadway.

Practice, Practice, Practice: Let your teenager drive with you. If it is raining and the roadway is wet, give the keys to your teen driver. Let them experience firsthand driving in inclement weather. As a passenger, you will be able to provide input for your teen driver and allow your teen to develop good driving habits.

Limit Nighttime Driving: Statistics show that nighttime is a dangerous time for teens to be driving. 42% of teen deaths occur in motor vehicle crashes on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Restricting nighttime driving can keep your child safe.

No Cell Phone Use: Cellular phone use and texting while driving is a crash waiting to happen. Strict rules should prohibit any cellular phone or other handheld device use while operating a motor vehicle. Studies now show that cell phone use and/or texting while driving is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. 100% focus should be on the roadway. If your teenage driver has a handheld communication device, it should be turned off while they are operating a motor vehicle.

Restrict the Number of Passengers in the Car: Teen driving crash rates increase by 50% with just one (1) teen passenger in the car…and by 400% with three (3) or more teen passengers. Parents should limit the number of passengers in their teen’s motor vehicle. This rule limits the amount of distractions in the vehicle…allowing the teen driver to focus on road safety.

Seatbelts and Speeding: Young drivers should be reminded to always wear their seatbelts. In addition, young drivers should also be reminded to not speed. Remind your young driver in a loving manner…but do it often. Make it a habit for them.

Parent/Teen Driving Agreement: It is a good idea for parents and teens to enter into a formal contract regarding vehicle use and driving protocols. Both the parent and the teen sign the agreement. Such agreements are good in that it puts certain rules in writing, in the form of a contract. The terms of the contract apply at all times. Parents and teens can agree on items such as: vehicle operation hours, seatbelt rules, the number of passengers allowed in the vehicle, cellular phone use, drinking and driving, speed limitations, emergency plans, or other items. An agreement like this is a great idea in that it commits the young driver…in writing.

The Stewart Law Firm is committed to teen driving safety and crash avoidance. We see, all too often, the senseless deaths and catastrophic personal injuries that occur when young and inexperienced drivers are behind the wheel. Keep your young driver safe. Stay involved. Constantly monitor. If you would like a free Parent/Teen Driving Agreement, contact The Stewart Law Firm today.

The Stewart Law Firm an Austin, Texas based law firm that prides itself in being on the front-line in fighting for victims’ rights and keeping proper checks and balances in place to assure that corporations, wrong-doers, and dangerous products do not injure or harm innocent people. The Stewart Law Firm handles cases involving: injuries caused by drunk drivers, catastrophic personal injuries, wrongful death, car crashes, commercial truck/18-wheeler crashes, bus crashes, aviation accidents, motorcycle crashes, defective automobiles (SUV rollovers, defective seat systems, defective seat belts, defective airbags, defective tires, post collision fuel-fed fires, door latch failure, roof crush, lack of crashworthiness/intrusion, park-to-reverse injuries), unsafe manufacturing/construction equipment, defective swimming pools, defective consumer goods, defective children’s toys, defective child seats, train collisions, catastrophic child injuries/molestation, industrial/construction injuries, oilfield injuries, explosions, toxic/environmental injuries, birth injuries, burn injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, paraplegia, quadriplegia, amputation injuries, electrocution injuries, national consumer class action/fraud litigation, business torts, and business litigation.

The Stewart Law Firm can be reached, toll-free, at (877) 326-0411. Our address is: 3000 South, IH-35, Suite 150, Austin, TX 78704. Visit our website at: www.thestewartlawfirm.net.