Contact Information: Contact: Elaine Beno/Carol Thorp (714) 885-2333 Media inquiries only
Auto Club Offers 10 Things Parents Can Do to Keep Their Teen Drivers Safe
First Annual National Teen Driver Safety Week Is October 15-20
| Source: Automobile Club of Southern California
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - October 15, 2007) - The Automobile Club of Southern California
urges parents of teenage drivers and soon-to-be drivers to improve their
teens' safety by heeding tips from AAA's new list of "Ten Things Parents
Can Do To Keep Their Teen Driver Safe." AAA is publicizing the list as part
of the first annual national Teen Driver Safety Week, which runs Oct.
15-20. Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for teens.
"Parents can have a tremendous impact on their teens' safety," said Kathy
Downing, manager of the Auto Club's Driver Services. "Teen Driver Safety
Week provides an opportunity for parents to focus on teen driver safety and
take practical steps that can reduce teen driver crashes. AAA created a
list of ten things parents can do to help keep their teen drivers safe all
year long."
Know and understand their teens - Not all teens should drive at the same
age. Teenagers mature, develop emotionally and become responsible at
varying rates. Even responsible and mature teens are at risk for crashes,
so the decision for them to start driving should be made by the family,
including the time commitment required for a permit and license under
California's Graduated Driver License law.
Be a positive and responsible role model - Teenagers learn from their
parents' behavior. Parents' actions behind the wheel influence the driving
behavior of their teens. Research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic
Safety found that often teens that have collisions and tickets are likely
to have parents with similar driving records. Teens that are collision-
and ticket-free tend to have parents with clean driving records as well.
So, buckle up, follow all traffic laws, don't drink and drive and don't
drive aggressively, said Downing.
Locate a driving school - Driving is a risky activity for teens and
warrants professional instruction. Driving schools that feature high
degrees of interaction and instructors with more than the minimum amount of
state-mandated training are suggested. Parents should select a driving
school that encourages parental involvement and progress reports. The Auto
Club offers a Teen Driving School with 12 locations in Southern California.
Practice might not make perfect, but it can make for better teen drivers -
As an important supplement to formal driver education, supervised driving
with parents provide teens with opportunities to reinforce proper driving
techniques and skills and receive feedback from the people who care most
about their safety and success. Plus, it's the law for teen drivers under
age 18 in California. To help parents, AAA offers "Teaching Your Teens To
Drive," a parent coaching program to conduct supervised driving. Learn
more at www.aaa.com/publicaffairs.
Keep teen drivers free of teen passengers and off the road at night -
Extensive research indicates that a teen driver's chances of crashing
increase with each additional teen passenger. Research shows teen crash
rates spike at night and that most nighttime crashes occur between 9 p.m.
and midnight. GDL laws protect the newest teen drivers, but once the
restriction period is over, parents still need to supervise their teen's
driving.
Encourage teens to get enough sleep - Teens need about nine hours of sleep
every night, but many teens fall short due to the combination of
early-morning school start times and homework, sports, after-school jobs
and other activities. A lack of sleep can negatively affect vision,
hand-eye coordination, reaction time and judgment. If you suspect your teen
is exhausted, exercise caution and drive them yourself, said Downing.
Eliminate the distractions - Cell phones and text messaging have rightly
gotten significant media and legislative attention as hazardous
distractions for teen drivers. With surveys reporting widespread use of
distracting technology by teen drivers, more than one-third of states,
including California, have recently banned cell phone use by new teen
drivers. California's law goes into effect next year. Parents should make
it a strict rule for everyone in the household and model safe driving
habits themselves, she said.
Create a parent-teen driving agreement - Having rules, conditions,
restrictions and consequences of teens' driving written down in advance
establishes driving as a privilege, and not something to be taken lightly
or for granted. Parents should look to state graduated driver licensing
programs as the minimum they should be enforcing. Parents should establish
rules and consequences that they and their teens agree upon that extend
beyond state laws. If the teen breaks a family driving rule, consequences
should be enforced and the situation should be used as an opportunity for
learning and discussion. Conversely, proper driving behavior should be
encouraged and rewarded with additional liberties. AAA offers parent-teen
driving agreements at www.aaa-calif.com/auto/safety/index.aspx.
Set a time each week for discussion and review - Parental involvement and
communication is critical in the prevention of teen-related crashes,
injuries and fatalities. Designate a time each week to address concerns
(both parent and teen), review the teen's driving performance and chart the
progression towards established goals and benchmarks.
Make smart vehicle choice decisions for teens - As the family member most
likely to crash, a teen should drive the safest vehicle the family owns.
Things to consider are vehicle type (sedans are generally safer than sports
cars, SUVs and pickup trucks), size (larger vehicles such as sedans fare
better in crashes than smaller vehicles, often thought to be teen-friendly)
and safety technology (front and side air bags, anti-lock brakes and
stability control systems).