For parents, it may seem difficult to monitor a teen’s driving behavior, but safe driving should start before he or she sits behind the wheel.
From text messages to distracting passengers, risky behavior behind the wheel is one of the leading causes of teen car crashes. Educating yourself and your teen about driving risks is the first step to ensuring safe habits.
Here are some things to remember:
• Approximately 55 percent of teen car crashes occur on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with 35 percent taking place between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.
• A 16-year-old driver is 20 times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle crash than a driver of any other age.
• Alcohol consumption can be deadly and must be discussed with your teen. Nearly 35 percent of teen driving fatalities involve alcohol.
• While everyone should wear seatbelts, studies show less than one-fourth of high school students wear a seatbelt when another person is driving.
• Most teenagers have cellular phones, but use of these devices while driving should be prohibited because they distract attention away from the road.
“Ultimately, parents are responsible
for the kind of driver their teen becomes,” says Michelle Mitchell, injury prevention program supervisor with the Click it Crew, a teen driver safety program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “By setting a positive example, parents can work with teens to achieve the mutual goal of safe driving.”
For more information on the Click it Crew and safe teen driving, please visit stlouischildrens.org.