When your teen gets a driver's license, it's important to set some rules of the
road beyond the relevant driving laws. By clearly defining your expectations before
you hand over the car keys, you'll reduce the risk of frustrating conflicts, costly
crashes, and other problems. What's more, you'll feel more confident about your teen's
safety.
Set rules to cover a range of factors, such as seatbelts, passengers, curfews,
and dealing with distractions like cellphones. Try to involve your teen in the process
of creating the rules and consequences.
Topics to consider include:
Distractions
Ban multitasking behind the wheel, whether it's text messaging, making phone calls,
or operating a GPS or MP3 player. Give your teen alternatives to these bad habits,
like pulling into a parking lot to answer and make calls and plotting directions before
leaving for an unfamiliar place. And be sure to set a good example in the way you
handle distractions while driving.
Passengers
Many states restrict the number or ages of passengers that teens can have when
they first get their license. Learn the rules in your state and consider adding others
based on your child's driving experience, temperament, and the driving situations
likely to occur.
You might want to start by not letting your teen drive with friends, then
loosening the restriction as your teen gains experience and comfort. But remember:
the more teen passengers in the car, the greater the crash risk.
Nighttime Driving
Ease teens into driving after dark. While many states' provisional licenses don't
require teens to be home until midnight, you might want to set an earlier curfew,
then extend it as you see fit. Driving at night is riskier than daytime driving for
all drivers, and even more dangerous for new drivers.
Speeding
Make sure that your teen driver understands the consequences of speeding —
how it can lead to potentially deadly crashes, costly tickets, demerit points associated
with tickets, and revoked driving privileges. Consider making your young driver responsible
for paying speeding tickets and any insurance rate hikes they cause.
Seatbelts
Studies show that teens are the least likely age group to wear safety belts, so
it's important to stress the importance of wearing them. Make buckling up a rule for
your teen and all passengers. Nearly every state fines drivers and passengers for
not wearing seatbelts, sometimes as much as $200!
Drinking and Driving
Teens should understand that driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol —
or getting in the car with someone who is — can be a fatal mistake. Encourage
teens to call you for a ride — regardless of the time or whether they're somewhere
off-limits — and promise to withhold punishment and questions.
Schoolwork and Other Responsibilities
Consider making driving a privilege based on whether your teen keeps good grades
or meets other responsibilities, like doing chores.
Maintenance
Teach your teen basic car maintenance that will keep the car safe and prevent breakdowns,
such as:
- checking the fuel level
- maintaining proper tire pressure (check monthly) and visually inspecting
tires each time the vehicle is driven
- checking fluids (oil, brake, power steering, windshield washer)
- oil change every 3,000 miles or as recommended in the owner's manual
- keeping mirrors and windows clean (inside and out)
Review tasks like reading a tire gauge and checking oil — first demonstrating,
then supervising as your teen does it. Keep a notebook in the glove compartment to
keep track of when oils, fluids, and air pressure are checked.
Weather Conditions
Set ground rules with your teen about which conditions are OK to drive in and which
aren't. Explain that if he or she is driving and a strong storm starts, it makes sense
to pull off the roadway and wait it out — even if curfew is compromised because
of bad weather, safety always comes first.
Consider putting the rules in writing by creating a Driver Agreement that clearly
states the rules and the consequences for not following them. This eliminates gray
areas and stresses that you take the rules seriously and your teen should too. The
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement on their Keys2Drive teen driving website. You can use
theirs or make your own.
And from time to time, get in the passenger seat while your teen drives. This will
give you a sense of how comfortable he or she is behind the wheel — and how
comfortable you are handing over the keys. Creating rules for the road now can help
build a foundation for safe driving that your teen will have forever.
