Yes you read that title correctly, and my teen will be driving this fall. Gulp. Anyway, I hope you all find today’s post helpful. 

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• Tips for driving safely as a teen

Teen drivers are involved in more auto crashes than other members of the community; three time as many in fact. Traffic accidents are the biggest cause of death for teenagers in the US. If you are a teen learning to drive, this may seem like a scary statistic. The fact is that everyone, no matter what age, can learn to drive safely. Doing this improves every teen’s chances of staying safe behind the wheel.

Being taught to drive in the right way is a good starting point. This puts teens in a good place, before they head to one of the many DMV locations to book their test. Passing a driving test is not the end of the story though, as any really good driver knows. All drivers, including teens, have a responsibility to help keep the roads safe. Here are a few tips for any teen driver; to help make this happen.

• Switch off phones

You may be thinking that hands free is fine. The truth is that any phone conversation, or any use of a phone. Is distracting when you are trying to drive. Things can happen pretty fast when you are behind the wheel. One minute you can be arranging to meet friends later; the next you can be under the truck that just stopped suddenly in front of you. The easiest thing is to switch off your phone until you finish your journey.

• No texting

No text is that important it’s worth dying for. If you think that you are careful and nothing bad will happen to you, you are just fooling yourself. Never text while you are behind the wheel. If you switch off your phone, like we just discussed, you will not be tempted.

• Stick to the speed limit

Being given your driving license means that you are being trusted to be grown up enough to drive safely, and according to the law. Speed is one of the biggest contributing factors when it comes to teen road crashes. Speed limits are there to protect you, your passengers and people in other vehicles. So stick to them. Do not be coaxed into racing or trying to beat stop lights. Games are for when you are ten, not when you are old enough to be trusted with driving a machine that is capable of killing.

• Always drive sober

It’s never a good idea to drive a vehicle when you have been drinking or doing drugs. You may think that you are okay to drive, but you are under the influence, so what do you know? If you have had any alcohol or drugs then ask to stay over where you are, or get a lift from someone who is sober. If you need to, call your parents. It’s better to get yelled at by them than it is to end up in the ER, or dead. There is a good chance that they will actually be glad you called rather than drive.

It’s a good thing that you have your freedom, and can drive wherever you want. Do not mess up. There is plenty of information out there that can help you drive safely, as well as the tips we have given you.