By Ret. Master Police Officer James Poer
As Americans, we often confuse what are our rights and what are our privileges. Teens… well, they really don’t have a clue.
Rights are something that every American has. We have the right to free speech… within the law. You can’t go into a movie theater and yell “fire”. We have the right to bear arms… again it must be used within the law. However, there is nothing in the Constitution that says we have the right to drive.
Every state gives us the privilege to drive and they can take it away if we abuse this privilege. As a parent of a young driver, you also have the ability to take away this privilege.
We have laws set by the US government. We have laws set by every state in this country. Every city has specific statutes that are really local laws. Your family has rules (or laws) within your household. But do you have specific rules for your teen driver to follow?
Sure, you may have talked about rules before and they may be based on what the state declares as a law, but do you have it in writing?
Simply discussing rules and the consequences of breaking a rule is one thing. Putting it in writing gives you much more power. Imagine if the President of the United States told us that we can no longer put jelly on our peanut butter sandwiches. Congress never passes the law and it was never put in writing. Do you think a judge could convict you if you put jelly on your peanut butter sandwich?
Okay, I may be reaching here but my point is, if you put in writing, it holds more weight. It shows your teen that you are very serious about your young driver’s safety and you will impose punishment for breaking the “Family’s Driving Laws”.
And don’t be afraid to take away privileges when these “laws” are broken. If you find out your teen has been driving while talking on the cell phone, driving with too many passengers, speeding, or any other dangerous action, take away privileges and be swift about it.
If your teen has agreed in writing, he or she will know that the consequences are going to be enforced!
You can download a FREE Parent/ Teen Driver Contract by visiting www.teendriverinsurance.com. There is also a Consequences Agreement where you can put in writing specifically what will happen if your young driver breaks certain rules.
Laws are put in writing to be respected and enforced. Your teen will hold greater respect for your family laws if they are in writing too.
Showing posts with label driver education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label driver education. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
IIHS Proposes Increasing Minimum Driving Age
By Tom Wiecek, President of the Society of Family Insurance Specialists
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety announced today their proposal to increase the minimum driving age in all states in the US to age 17. Their reasons are solid and should help reduce the number of accidents involving teenagers.
The Graduated Drivers License program that almost every state has adopted has proven to work. Numbers of teen driver accidents and fatalities have decreased every year since its inception. The GDL program basically adds more supervised driving experience for teens and restricts them from driving during the times when risk is highest. However, more than 5,000 teens are killed in car accidents every year!
Although teens and many parents may not like this change, parents should understand that there are two primary reasons why 16 year olds are most likely to get into accidents- inexperience and immaturity. Parents can help their child get the experience by spending time supervising their teen behind the wheel.
Maturity, on the other hand, can only come with age. The GDL program gives the teen more time for experience but it doesn’t address the problem of immaturity. 16 year olds have the highest crash rate and fatalities of any age group and it’s largely due to peer pressure and not realizing the dangers they face.
16 year olds tend to think they are invincible behind the wheel and when other teens in their car urge them to drive fast, they cave into such pressures much easier.
Whether this proposal is passed in North Carolina or not, there are steps parents can take to reduce the likelihood of their child causing an accident.
Get a home study driving course and spend as much time possible teaching your teen the skills needed to drive safely.
Delay the time before your teen gets a full license. This will help your teen mature and give you more time to supervise your teen’s driving. This will also show how serious you are about their safety.
Get a GPS Teen Monitoring System. This will instantly reduce the likelihood of your teen driving dangerously. If your teen knows that you’ll be alerted, they will be less tempted to speed or break any other rules that you’ve set forth.
Talk to your teen about the dangers. Communication is probably the most effective way to make your teen a safer driver. Share the statistics and the most common mistakes teens make. Then get a contract in writing that states that your teen understands the dangers and will follow the rules you have set forth. You can download a free parent/teen driver contract by clicking here: http://www.teendriverinsurance.com.
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety announced today their proposal to increase the minimum driving age in all states in the US to age 17. Their reasons are solid and should help reduce the number of accidents involving teenagers.
The Graduated Drivers License program that almost every state has adopted has proven to work. Numbers of teen driver accidents and fatalities have decreased every year since its inception. The GDL program basically adds more supervised driving experience for teens and restricts them from driving during the times when risk is highest. However, more than 5,000 teens are killed in car accidents every year!
Although teens and many parents may not like this change, parents should understand that there are two primary reasons why 16 year olds are most likely to get into accidents- inexperience and immaturity. Parents can help their child get the experience by spending time supervising their teen behind the wheel.
Maturity, on the other hand, can only come with age. The GDL program gives the teen more time for experience but it doesn’t address the problem of immaturity. 16 year olds have the highest crash rate and fatalities of any age group and it’s largely due to peer pressure and not realizing the dangers they face.
16 year olds tend to think they are invincible behind the wheel and when other teens in their car urge them to drive fast, they cave into such pressures much easier.
Whether this proposal is passed in North Carolina or not, there are steps parents can take to reduce the likelihood of their child causing an accident.
Get a home study driving course and spend as much time possible teaching your teen the skills needed to drive safely.
Delay the time before your teen gets a full license. This will help your teen mature and give you more time to supervise your teen’s driving. This will also show how serious you are about their safety.
Get a GPS Teen Monitoring System. This will instantly reduce the likelihood of your teen driving dangerously. If your teen knows that you’ll be alerted, they will be less tempted to speed or break any other rules that you’ve set forth.
Talk to your teen about the dangers. Communication is probably the most effective way to make your teen a safer driver. Share the statistics and the most common mistakes teens make. Then get a contract in writing that states that your teen understands the dangers and will follow the rules you have set forth. You can download a free parent/teen driver contract by clicking here: http://www.teendriverinsurance.com.
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