Teen Driver Safety Guide
Watching a teenager learn to drive can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. As new drivers gain independence, parents play a crucial role in helping them build safe, responsible habits behind the wheel.
Teen drivers face higher risks due to inexperience, distractions and peer influence, but with the right guidance and preparation, those risks can be reduced.
Teen Driver Facts
Teens are more likely to be involved in crashes than any other age group, especially during their first year of driving. Inexperience, distractions and peer pressure all contribute to higher accident rates. Most teen-related crashes are preventable through proper training, supervision and responsible decision-making.
- Teen Driving: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration outlines teen crash risks and proven countermeasures.
- Teen Crash Risks and Prevention: Learn research-based facts on teen crash risks and actions parents and teens can take to lower them.
- Teen Drivers Safer With More Practice: A study by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute researchers looks at how getting more practice while you have your learner's permit can keep you safer on the road in the long run.
- Teen Driver: Read some good advice for driving safely on this page from the Massachusetts state government.
- Keep Your Teen Driving Smart: Find out how parents can play a role in keeping teen drivers safe.
- Teen Driver Facts: Car accidents are a leading cause of teen deaths, but learning about the risk factors can help you minimize them.
Safe Driving Tips
Building safe driving habits takes consistency and practice. Teens should always buckle up, follow the speed limit and keep both hands on the wheel. Avoid distractions, especially texting and keep music and conversations at a reasonable level. Practice defensive driving by staying alert, scanning for hazards and maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles.
- Safe Driving: Having a good understanding of your surroundings at all times can help you to avoid dangers on the road.
- Driving Safety Guidelines and Laws: Traffic laws exist to help drivers and those around them stay safe.
- Be Safe: Drive Smart: Following a few basic safety tips can help you to avoid a crash.
- Winter Driving Tips: Wintry weather brings its own set of dangers for drivers, making getting to your destination safely more difficult.
- Pull Aside, Stay Alive: In parts of the country that experience dust storms, it's important to learn what to do if you encounter one while driving.
Driving Under the Influence
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal and life-threatening. Consuming even small amounts of these substances can impair judgment and reaction time. Teens should plan ahead by arranging a safe ride home or calling a trusted adult rather than getting behind the wheel impaired or riding with someone who is.
- Impaired Driving: Talk With Your Kids: Parents can equip their kids to make smart choices by talking to them about the dangers of driving while impaired.
- Alcohol and Drug Use Among Drivers: A national research review looks at impairment prevalence, risk and countermeasures.
- Drive Sober Data and Reports: Read statistics about impaired driving on this page.
- Drinking and Driving: Even if you're not legally impaired, if you've consumed any alcohol at all, your ability to drive is compromised.
- Impaired Driving Crash Facts: Learn about the dangers of impaired driving that are covered in a TLSAE course.
- Operating Under the Influence: Driving while impaired is both dangerous and a crime.
Avoiding Risky Behavior
Speeding, tailgating, showing off to friends, driving while distracted or tired or ignoring traffic signals dramatically increase the chance of a crash. Recognizing these risks and learning how to avoid them helps teens develop confidence and responsibility on the road.
- Distracted Driving: A Triple Threat: Safe driving requires you to pay attention to the road.
- Distracted Driving: Many people think they're good at multitasking, but that's simply not true when you're driving.
- Drowsy Driving and How to Prevent It: Read facts about driving while drowsy, including signs that you should pull over.
- Teen Driving Crashes: This fact sheet includes information about the risk of getting into an accident and how to minimize it through driver education.
- Interventions to Reduce Distracted Driving: An academic review looks at what works (and what's unproven) to cut distraction at the wheel.