If your teen child recently received his or her driver's license, you might be worried about the teen getting behind the wheel of the car. Statistically, teen drivers between the ages of 16 to 19 have more car accidents than all other categories of drivers, and if your teen causes an accident it could lead to a personal injury lawsuit. Limiting the distractions your teen faces while driving is a great way to reduce his or her chances of causing an accident, and here are some ways to do this.
No Texting While Driving
Because teens are inexperienced drivers, they are more likely to have car crashes. Teens are also likely to be distracted while driving, and distractions can occur from:
- Cellphones
- Friends in the car
- Loud music
- Grooming themselves
- Eating
Cellphones are very popular today. According to Pew Research, 78% of teens have cell phones today, and 46% of teens have admitted to texting while driving. Texting is becoming a leading cause of distractions for drivers of all ages, and this is a problem that leads to many car accidents.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five car crashes are caused by distracted drivers. It's hard to say how many of these are from texting, but it's likely that texting plays a huge role in this.
Install a Drive Camera
Often called a drive-cam, this device is installed in your teen's car, and it monitors what he or she is doing. This device can sense if unusual activity is occurring with the vehicle, and when it senses this, it records video clips of the teen.
The device sends these videos to you, and this allows you to remotely monitor what your teen is doing while driving. If your teen knows that his or her car has this device, the teen may be more likely to be cautious while driving.
Limit the Number of Passengers In the Car
The CDC reports that teens have a higher chance of getting into accidents when there are passengers in the car. As the number of passengers increases in the car, the risk also increases. To protect your teen and other people, you can set up a rule that limits the number of passengers your teen has with him or her.
For the first year of driving, you may want to put a limit of having one passenger. If the teen avoids accidents and is responsible during the first year, you may feel better about increasing this number.
Set Time Restrictions
As you develop rules for your teen's driving, you may want to consider two other vital facts relating to teen car accidents:
- 9 pm to midnight is when most teen accidents occur
- The majority of teen car accidents happen on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday
Restricting the times and days when your teen drives could also keep your child safer on the road. While there is always a chance that an accident could occur at any time of day, by limiting when your teen can drive, it will reduce the risks of an accident occurring.
As with any rules, it's important for you to keep an eye on your teen, and to make sure you follow through with consequences if he or she breaks any of the rules you set up.
If your teen ends up causing an accident and is at-fault for the accident, you could find yourself in the middle of a personal injury lawsuit. If this happens, you will need to hire a personal injury lawyer to represent the teen, but you may be able to prevent this by setting up rules for your teenage child. Click here to read more.
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