Teens get excited to hit the road once they get their driver’s license that they have been dreaming. There are a lot of teenagers today that are getting into very fatal car accidents. This is due to the fact that safe teen driving is not being taught properly. The limited driving experience is the root cause of teen car accidents. The statistics about teenage drivers and car accidents are scary. As we mature as drivers, we are better judges of speed, distance, traffic patterns, taking while driving, and using a cell phone. Teenager’s minimal driving experience shared with the key factors listed creates a chance for disaster.
Car Accidents and Teenagers
Most schools have driver education programs that can help teenagers learn how to drive the car properly but the thing is driver safety is not being emphasized too much. Most teenagers today are given their own cars and some parents feel that they are capable enough to drive their own cars but most teenagers feel that they can take for granted a lot of the safe teen driving tips that can determine if they stay alive or not in an accident. Teens must be extremely careful while driving to the school or just cruising around on the roads; they must follow various safety tips.
Tips for Safe Teen Driving
The first year of driving is the most critical time. Crashes are 10 times more likely during the first 500 miles that a teenager drives than for a new driver. Every teenager must be taught to follow the essential traffic laws. It is the responsibility of the parents to follow the rules and teach their teens also. Rules were made for the safety goals so they should be followed.
Teens should have a focus on their car driving, and should not get carried away by the distractions while driving. They should make it a point not use their cell phones while driving the car in order to avoid car accidents because most of the car accidents occur due to belts help to protect the person driving from sudden motion or twist. Teenagers must wear a seat belt while they go for driving, and it should also make sure that passengers also wear their seatbelts properly as well. Wearing a seat belt is very important and almost 35% of the teenagers do not wear seat belts while driving a car according to a study. Teens should not tuck the belt under their arm for comfort purposes.
Speeding is another reason for most of teen car accidents. Most of the teenagers drive the car 10-15 miles over the speed limit and most of them don’t pay attention to the speed limits. A teenager with less driving experience and less driving skills may not be able to control the car rapidly when speeding. Rollover accidents due to speeding are high in teens.
A very important teenager car tip is to not drink or do drugs. Regardless of age, drinking or consuming drugs while driving a car increases the risk of car accidents. Driving drunk or on illegal substances may reduce teen drivers enough to significantly slow down the reaction time. If a situation arises where they must use their reflexes, teen car drivers may not be able to move fast enough to keep away from a car accident. Teens who have had too much to drink or are unable to drive the car safely should call a taxi, parent or friend to pick them up.
Parents should explain to their teens how dangerous it is to talk over cell phones while driving the car. Teenagers should avoid texting on mobile phones while car driving. Texting has been shown to impair the driving ability to a greater degree than alcohol consumption. The process of looking up and down at the phone while texting is enough time to become involved in a serious car accident. It only takes one person stopping, changing lanes, or swerving unexpectedly to cause a major car accident. Teen drivers should also avoid using a handheld cell phone while driving a car. Cell phone usage is illegal in some states while driving, and can contribute to driving accidents.
Ramon Wells (born 25 February 1988) is a Fitness Trainer, musicologist and ethnomusicologist. He is a National Fitness Trainer the in Indonesia, and University Professor Emeritus of the composition and theory department the College of Music of the University of the Jakarta Indonesia.