Safe Teen Driving Blog
Providing a solid BASE for Teen Drivers by improving Behavior, Attitude, Skills, and Experience
Friday, January 25, 2008
Poor Decision Making a Key Factor in Teen Driving Accidents and Fatalities?
There was a recent editorial on teen driving on teenspeakonline.com and it addressed the new driving laws in Illinois as well as the ineffectiveness that they expect them to have. This editorial says that teen drivers are not necessarily bad ones but rather they make poor decisions. Hmmm … this is no new news to many people.
The editorial goes on to say that teen drivers are a bigger risk because they put themselves into more and more risky driving situations. Yes, this is definitely true and then the editorial goes on to say politicians are well-meaning in their approval and passing of newer, stricter driving laws but that they are not going to do any good. Now this is where things get a little interesting.
The teen writing this editorial goes on to say that the new laws are increasing the waiting time a teen has in order to receive their license but not increasing the practice time requirement. They believe that the extra wait time infers the need for additional practice time. This is likely accurate because it is definitely hopeful that teens will not just sit around waiting for the magical day but rather do something constructive like practice.
This teen editorial goes on to say that the new laws which increase the restriction of driving with more than one teen passenger in the car is getting bumped from 6 months to a year and teens do not understand this law. This editorialist continues on that their driver's education class just spouts off the new laws but does not talk about the "whys" of it all. Ok, this is where the teen starts to make excuses for their generation. Basically the gist is that because teens don't understand some of the laws that mean they are going to break them anyway. What?
Teenagers want adults to give them some credit (meaning common sense) when it comes to driving and yet the teen editorialist is basically pleading some type of ignorance saying that teens don't understand why some of these laws are being put in place? Teens are savvy and they know exactly why these laws are being passed – because their peers are being killed!
The editorial goes on to say that teen drivers are a bigger risk because they put themselves into more and more risky driving situations. Yes, this is definitely true and then the editorial goes on to say politicians are well-meaning in their approval and passing of newer, stricter driving laws but that they are not going to do any good. Now this is where things get a little interesting.
The teen writing this editorial goes on to say that the new laws are increasing the waiting time a teen has in order to receive their license but not increasing the practice time requirement. They believe that the extra wait time infers the need for additional practice time. This is likely accurate because it is definitely hopeful that teens will not just sit around waiting for the magical day but rather do something constructive like practice.
This teen editorial goes on to say that the new laws which increase the restriction of driving with more than one teen passenger in the car is getting bumped from 6 months to a year and teens do not understand this law. This editorialist continues on that their driver's education class just spouts off the new laws but does not talk about the "whys" of it all. Ok, this is where the teen starts to make excuses for their generation. Basically the gist is that because teens don't understand some of the laws that mean they are going to break them anyway. What?
Teenagers want adults to give them some credit (meaning common sense) when it comes to driving and yet the teen editorialist is basically pleading some type of ignorance saying that teens don't understand why some of these laws are being put in place? Teens are savvy and they know exactly why these laws are being passed – because their peers are being killed!
Teens know the details of how a peer has gotten killed because they indulge in the same behaviors and allow themselves to be distracted in the same ways. Yet, they never believe an accident or death will every happen to them. It is not ignorance that is holding teens back from following the rules of the road, it is simple denial.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Real Life Hazards Best Driving Experience for Teens
Having rain in the forecast is sometimes a good thing when teens are taking a defensive driving course like the one the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course offers. It just adds one of the elements of driving conditions that teenagers should be prepared for as they learn to drive, especially defensively.
This defensive driving course is for both parents and teens and it can be quite an eye opener, not only for the new teen drivers but for the experienced parent as well. Teen drivers and their parents are put through the paces with such drills as braking when the roads are wet, changing lanes in an emergency and even how to get out of a skid. For the skid drills, there are special cars that are purposely set up to skid so that the teens can learn what it feels like, the panicky feeling they get when it happens and how to push past all that and come out of the skid safely as possible.
When parents don't have as much time as they should to teach their teens practical on-the-road driving, this defensive driving course can help fill in some blanks. After all, parents are not likely going to allow their teens to skid or drive in the rain in the family car! However, with the course, the instructors want teens to screw up because it will be in a controlled course and they will learn from the mistakes as well as that of others too.
Parents don't know everything, although they may pretend that they do with their teenagers. So this defensive driving course is a definite eye opener for both parties. Teenagers will have to deal with situations that the parents will never think of, which can be a bit disconcerting for the grown-ups. In a country where as many as 25-30 teens die every day due to vehicle accidents, adding a driving test to your "resume" is a smart move.
While teens crave the independence that the open road will bring, they will not likely think about any potential road hazards they may encounter. They are thinking about switching the CD in the car or finding the windshield wiper switch. The problem is that one small distraction could cause a situation where an accident can occur. With the defensive driving course, hopefully those lessons will kick in instinctively for teens and avert a disaster.
That is the whole purpose for the defensive driving course. It is but another tool of many in the quest to build a safe teenage driving population. The only thing that would be better is making driver's education a mandatory class once again in school so that each and every teen will have an equal opportunity to learn safe driving habits.
This defensive driving course is for both parents and teens and it can be quite an eye opener, not only for the new teen drivers but for the experienced parent as well. Teen drivers and their parents are put through the paces with such drills as braking when the roads are wet, changing lanes in an emergency and even how to get out of a skid. For the skid drills, there are special cars that are purposely set up to skid so that the teens can learn what it feels like, the panicky feeling they get when it happens and how to push past all that and come out of the skid safely as possible.
When parents don't have as much time as they should to teach their teens practical on-the-road driving, this defensive driving course can help fill in some blanks. After all, parents are not likely going to allow their teens to skid or drive in the rain in the family car! However, with the course, the instructors want teens to screw up because it will be in a controlled course and they will learn from the mistakes as well as that of others too.
Parents don't know everything, although they may pretend that they do with their teenagers. So this defensive driving course is a definite eye opener for both parties. Teenagers will have to deal with situations that the parents will never think of, which can be a bit disconcerting for the grown-ups. In a country where as many as 25-30 teens die every day due to vehicle accidents, adding a driving test to your "resume" is a smart move.
While teens crave the independence that the open road will bring, they will not likely think about any potential road hazards they may encounter. They are thinking about switching the CD in the car or finding the windshield wiper switch. The problem is that one small distraction could cause a situation where an accident can occur. With the defensive driving course, hopefully those lessons will kick in instinctively for teens and avert a disaster.
That is the whole purpose for the defensive driving course. It is but another tool of many in the quest to build a safe teenage driving population. The only thing that would be better is making driver's education a mandatory class once again in school so that each and every teen will have an equal opportunity to learn safe driving habits.
Taking Do as I Say, Not as I Do to the Limit with Teens
Perhaps one of the most important axioms today when it comes to shaping young minds is "lead by example." However, you better watch what you do behind the wheel of your car! Your teenagers may seem that they are indifferent to the world around them, buried in their MP3 player or Gameboy, but they are truly watching your every move behind the wheel, at least part of the time.
The concept of "leading by example" is definitely an altruistic one that parents say they often do, but surveys of teens across the country say that the parent contingent is rather lax in that area. There are teen reports of parents shouting at drivers, talking on the cell phone while driving, not wearing seat belts and much more.
The key to bringing down that high figure of teenage driving fatalities is for parents to start doing what they say they do (but don't) and actually practice safe driving practices. For many, that is likely easier said than done. It is hard retraining your self to not slip into bad habits, to not reach for that cell phone or hot cup of coffee while driving. However, if you start driving more safely, the only habits your teens are going to form are good ones.
To give you an idea of what teens say about their parent's driving habits, about 40% have said that they have actually been scared of something their parents did behind the wheel. Multi-tasking is another big problem that parents perpetuate. Is it really important to change the radio, dial a number on the cell phone and drive with your knees? What did drivers do 25 years ago when cell phones weren’t really around?
Part of why teen driving accidents and fatalities occur is that they have not had any formal instruction prior to obtaining their learner's permit. What they learned was through observation of their parents. Now that is a scary thought! It is almost criminal that about 30% of teens have had not face time with their parents or practical hands-on knowledge of driving behind the wheel. It is pure parental negligence not to provide some sort of informal training, whether you do it yourself or a family friend.
Teens do need to take some responsibility for their actions however. There are countless safe driving campaigns out there so teens at some point are faced with what is safe and what is not in terms of driving practices. Knowing the difference between right and wrong and then doing something wrong anyway is not the best way to earn the privilege of driving. Parents and teens need to establish open dialog and truly work together to create safe driving habits that both can follow.
The concept of "leading by example" is definitely an altruistic one that parents say they often do, but surveys of teens across the country say that the parent contingent is rather lax in that area. There are teen reports of parents shouting at drivers, talking on the cell phone while driving, not wearing seat belts and much more.
The key to bringing down that high figure of teenage driving fatalities is for parents to start doing what they say they do (but don't) and actually practice safe driving practices. For many, that is likely easier said than done. It is hard retraining your self to not slip into bad habits, to not reach for that cell phone or hot cup of coffee while driving. However, if you start driving more safely, the only habits your teens are going to form are good ones.
To give you an idea of what teens say about their parent's driving habits, about 40% have said that they have actually been scared of something their parents did behind the wheel. Multi-tasking is another big problem that parents perpetuate. Is it really important to change the radio, dial a number on the cell phone and drive with your knees? What did drivers do 25 years ago when cell phones weren’t really around?
Part of why teen driving accidents and fatalities occur is that they have not had any formal instruction prior to obtaining their learner's permit. What they learned was through observation of their parents. Now that is a scary thought! It is almost criminal that about 30% of teens have had not face time with their parents or practical hands-on knowledge of driving behind the wheel. It is pure parental negligence not to provide some sort of informal training, whether you do it yourself or a family friend.
Teens do need to take some responsibility for their actions however. There are countless safe driving campaigns out there so teens at some point are faced with what is safe and what is not in terms of driving practices. Knowing the difference between right and wrong and then doing something wrong anyway is not the best way to earn the privilege of driving. Parents and teens need to establish open dialog and truly work together to create safe driving habits that both can follow.
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