Parenting

When your teen gets their driver's license, you'll naturally be concerned for their safety as a parent. In this case, you can share some tips with them to improve their safety and you will be less anxious whenever they go somewhere. Here are some car safety tips you can share with your teen to help them be a safe driver. Keep the Car Well-Maintained Let your teen know that a well-maintained car is a safe car to drive because it will be likely to respond better to actions taken on it. For this reason, remind your teen to service their car regularly so it's always in optimal running condition. With 3,651 deaths from car accidents in 2018 in California alone, this number may likely have been lowered if every car on the road is well-maintained. When there's a lower chance of the car malfunctioning while on the road, there's also a lower chance of getting into an accident. Never Drive While Drunk Driving while drunk is never a good idea, for either teens or adults. This is because alcohol impairs the capacity of someone to respond correctly and fast enough to situations as they arise. Tell your teen that if they ever find themselves in a situation in which they're drunk, they should either call you to give them a ride or use a ride-hailing app to get a car that will get them to where they need to go. Doing this will help them stay safe because inexperience paired with alcohol can have devastating results. Always Be Aware of Surroundings With almost 3.5 million truck drivers in America, it's a fact that there are many trucks on the highways at any given time. With this in mind, it's important to have your teen stay aware of what's happening around them whenever they're on the road. Let them know that other drivers may not always be able to control their cars at all times, so it's up to them to ensure that they stay safe and react accordingly to different scenarios while driving. This way, they will be able to not only avoid causing an accident, but they will also minimize the chances of being involved in an accident caused by other drivers. Drive at the Speed Limit Speed may thrill, but it often has disastrous consequences. Because of this, it's important to remind your teen to always drive at the speed limit, or lower if necessary. With the likelihood of hostile weather conditions and other factors that will make driving safely harder, it's important for them to maintain a good speed. This should ideally be the set speed limit or even lower if this will be more manageable for them. Have them understand that if they don't feel comfortable driving at a certain speed, there's no reason they shouldn't slow down. Keep Emergency Numbers at Hand Finally, since it's impossible to accurately predict everything that may happen while they're on the road, emergency numbers will be beneficial for your teen driver to have. These include the contacts of ambulance services and tow trucks. With at least 583 towns and cities collecting 10% or more of their general fund revenue from fines which include towing, you will be likely to find a supportive towing service that your teen can depend on in case of an emergency. Sharing these tips with your teen is half the job. The other half is setting a good example by following them yourself. When you do this, your teen will have an easier time following the tips you share with them and improve their safety whenever they go driving.