Not surprisingly, teen drivers are at a greater risk for accidents on the road. Charge it to inexperience, lack of study or plain carelessness — the common teen driving mistakes are what parents and instructors should focus on when they teach.
Here’s a list of common teen driving mistakes, and how to potentially avoid them:
They don’t wear safety belts. Now a standard when building cars, over 170 million vehicles on the road have them — so why do teen drivers still forget to strap on their safety belts? One of the worst teen driving mistake is assuming they are invincible while driving. Safety belts, coupled with air safety bags lessen the risk of accidents being fatal. Be the example — get them used to strapping up before even starting the car. Ask them nicely to do the same. Also, it’s the law.
They panic or over-correct in emergency situations. When teen drivers face something new to them on the road, their first instinct is to step on the brakes. Hard. Thankfully, anti-lock braking mechanisms help prevent skidding. Another is when a car loses control, say, while driving in rain-soaked streets, they tend to oversteer/over-correct, which only throws the car even more out-of-control. Teach them that sometimes, it is better to speed up a notch to avoid collision. Then gradually slow down after.
They drink and drive. A common teen driving mistake: they think that “don’t drink and drive” means a bottle of alcohol won’t hurt. Some states have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior — even if they don’t meet the state limit, they might find themselves spending the night in jail, with a lot of financial trouble to wake up to. Fortunately, various groups have, for years, been advocating the seriousness of this message.
They drive too fast for conditions. A common teen driving mistake is not being able to gauge the situation of the road before hitting the gas. Sometimes, they assume that cars are built for any kind of weather — that it can cut through ice and have electronic stability controls take care of the rest. Have them drive 5mph slower — in any kind of condition. It gets them where they have to go in almost the same amount of time, minus the risk of accidents.
They ride with other teens. Not that we have anything against teen drivers having friends, but seriously, other teens present in the car, more than texting, is a lethal teen driving mistake. Distracted driving follows DUI/DWIs as the leading cause for teen driving accidents. Teach them to focus on the road, and only on the road when driving.
The only way to avoid the common teen driving mistakes is to be the best example/teacher when it comes to driving. Consider reviewing a driver education guide specifically created for the parents teaching their teen to drive. Have them understand that driving is a privilege that carries a lot of responsibility. Let them become the best, confident and competent drivers on the road by starting early.
The National Safety Commission can be found online at http://www.NationalSafetyCommission.com. TNSC works to increase awareness of important safety issues, particularly those that deal with highway and traffic safety information. Our mission is to make consumers more vigilant and understand that “safety is no accident,” through education, quality traffic school online courses and outreach programs. Through our traffic safety blogs we promote defensive driving techniques, driver training and safety.
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