Prepare Your Florida Teen For A Lifetime Of Respecting The Road
Corbin Sutter
Accident Lawyers
Preparing for a teen driver in Florida to take to the road is a tough “rite of passage” for many parents. Parents want to teach their children how to respect the road, how to drive safely, and how to build skills that will last them a lifetime. Teens often have too much confidence and not enough experience to back it up, which can be a dangerous situation when it comes to learning how to drive. A few driving statistics show just how important it is for teens to have a realistic and careful approach when it comes to getting behind the wheel: • Auto accidents are a leading cause of death for teens in the United States
• Teen drivers have the highest chance of having a fatal crash within their first six months after getting their license.
• Teen drivers are 10 times more likely to be involved in an auto accident within their first 12 months on the road.
• Teen drivers have higher crash rates than any other driver demographic.
Parents want their children to embrace this new freedom, but they want them to do it safely. Facing an auto accident as a teen can be devastating to Florida families, but there are things that parents can do to help their teens to prepare for a lifetime as a safe driver.
How Parents Can Help
Some ideas for Florida parents who want to build a safe foundation for their teen drivers are:
• Put the vehicle and insurance in your teen driver’s name – Responsibility is something that is learned for teens, and making them be responsible for their vehicle shows them just how serious this responsibility is. If they do drive negligently or cause an accident, they will learn quickly that they will be the ones responsible for the consequences incurred.
• Invest in learning – Learning is always a solid investment and this continues to ring true for parents teaching their children to drive. Taking your own time and investing it into teaching your teen how to drive is important, and it makes for great quality time between parent and child. On top of self-teaching, investing in driving lessons is another excellent idea. Driving school certification may also help teens to save on their auto insurance policies in Florida.
• Set rules and boundaries – More than half of fatal teen auto accidents occur on weekends, and about 40% of these occur between the hours of 9pm and 6am. Establishing set rules and boundaries can help to show teens the importance of their decisions regarding getting behind the wheel as well as the dangers that may be present.
• Emphasize the danger of distractions – Distracted driving is a leading cause of teen driving accidents in 2022. Using a cell phone behind the wheel increases the likelihood of a teen getting into an accident by 23 times, teen drivers with more than 1 passenger in the vehicle are 2 times more likely to get into an accident, and more than half of teens in fatal auto accidents are not wearing their seatbelt for any reason. One of the best things parents can do is to really teach their teens the dangers of distraction and how the road should be their number 1 priority every time they get behind the wheel.
Teens make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes occur on the road. If your teen has been in an auto accident for any reason, we’re here to help. Contact us today to see how you and your teen can get the representation you need.