Myself Bob Ciasulli and I owns numerous car dealerships in northern New Jersey. Like other parents everywhere, Myself concerned with the teens and young drivers on the roads today. Myself on a mission to inform both teens and their parents what they can do to protect themselves on the roads. The combination of teen inexperience, common distraction, speer pressure, and the inability to properly assess risk are all factors that contribute to teen accidents. Sadly, more than 10 young drivers (aged 15-20) are killed in vehicle crashes every day, and 745 critically injured. I want you to be safe. Parents and teens, read on to learn how to reduce your son’s and daughter’s exposure to driving risk and help them develop safer driving skills and defensive driving habits.
Teenagers represent about 10% of the total US population but are involved in 12% of all fatal car crashes. Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for 15-20 year olds. Why? Teenagers are the least likely to wear seat belts, most likely to take poorly calculated risks, and most likely to speed and tailgate.
Parents: Here’s How to Keep Your Teen Safe on the Road
As a parent, you have great influence over the safety of your children. Here are a few things you can do to ensure the safety of your teen.
Setting a good example. How are you driving? Research conducted by AAA found that teens who were involved in traffic accidents had parents with poor driving records. Practicing safe driving habits will encourage your teens to do the same.
No passengers at night. The more friends your son or daughter is driving with, the more likely they are to be distracted, especially at night. Parents, know who your teen is driving with at all times and try to limit nighttime driving with friends. The hours between 9 P.M. and midnight are when teen crash rates are highest.
Distractions. Inexperienced teenage drivers should NOT be texting, calling, or listening to an iPod on the road. The same goes for experienced drivers as well! Most of states have already taken precaution against teen drivers texting, but parents should enforce this rule as well. The more focused your child is on the road, the better.
Put your teen in a safe vehicle: Because your teen is generally the family member with the greatest driving risk, put them in the safest vehicle available. Your teenager no doubt wants to be driving a sports car, but sedans and larger vehicles hold up better in crashes and generally have better safety features—air bags, anti-lock breaks, and more.
Practice. Driving lessons with you or another experienced family member and other supervised opportunities will reinforce good skills and techniques. Get in the car with your teen and encourage proper driving and safe practices. Positive feedback from people who love and care is critical to future success on the road.
Teens, Here Are Some Tips For You:
Wear your seat belt: Obviously injuries can be prevented simply by following this rule. It can save your life in both low speed and high speed crashes. If you’re riding with friends, make them buckle up as well.
The number of people in your car: Don’t allow more people in your car then can comfortably fit and make sure there are enough seat belts to go around. This is not only physically dangerous, but can increase driver distraction.
Go the speed limit: You aren’t experienced enough to quickly react and anticipate other drivers reactions. Not following speed limits is a main factor in teen accidents. Slow down, give yourself a better reaction time.
Red lights: Don’t run them. You put yourself and others in danger.
Turn signals: No one can read your mind—signal your intention to change lanes and give other cars time to react to you. Don’t forget to turn off your turn signal when you’re done.
Intersections: When the light turns green, look both ways before you go. You don’t want to collide with other cars in the intersection.
No drinking. No drugs: Deliberately putting yourself and others in danger—no one should ever drink or do drugs and then drive a vehicle.
Adjust your headrest: To prevent whiplash, move your seat’s headrest to the height directly behind your head.
Both teens and parents need to work collectively towards the common goal of safe teen driving. Experience is key—parents, spend more time with your child behind the wheel to supervise different situations and circumstances. Keep an open dialogue. Communication is key to making your teen feel confident and safe on the road.
Bio: Bob Ciasulli owns and operates numerous car dealerships in northern New Jersey and Bob Ciasulli is very interested in automotive maintenance and safe driving habits. These teen driving tips in New Jersey are based on what he’s experienced on the road. He encourages you to drive safely and protect yourself and your fellow drivers.
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