Things To Do When Your Teenager Is About To Drive

(Illustration - Shutterstock)

Many parents wake up with cold sweats thinking that their child is about to start driving. This is a totally normal feeling as most parents always dread the worst and there are many things that can happen when it comes to cars and irresponsible teenagers. Doing your due diligence as a parent is your job and most of the time when it comes to teenagers is completely necessary. Here are some of the things that you can do to hammer the message about safety and responsibility into a teenager’s head about driving.

Research Cars

Many young drivers get into accidents regardless of how safe that they can be. This can be a result of inclement weather or even just blowing a tire on the highway. Often times, the young driver is not at fault and it is a completely different party being irresponsible. For these reasons, if you are going to buy your teenager a car or used car then you should look first and foremost at the safety features. Knowing what type of cars will protect your child in case of an accident is important. Other factors such as gas mileage are important as hopefully the upkeep of the car will land on your child’s shoulders.

Set Ground Rules

This is generally set up by the state that your teenager is driving in. There are curfews for teenagers who have just begun driving regardless of where they are going. There are a few exceptions to the curfews if education or employment is involved. Teenagers tend to get distracted if there are too many people in their car and this leads to accidents caused by distracting the driver. Loud music is also a thing that distracts teen drivers as they might not be able to hear their surroundings or somebody honking at them.

Make Driving a Privilege

Using a car to have your child behave properly is a tried and true method as most parents had it done to them. Making your child have a part time job to have the car is a great way to teach responsibility when it comes to finances. Maintaining grades is important in general but using a car to boost them is another good idea. If your teenager is to break curfew and is not caught by law enforcement and ticketed then you should punish the teenager accordingly. The law enforcement office will generally just give a warning or ticket if the curfew is close but if it is blatant then a citation will definitely be issued.

As you can see, holding your teenager accountable might seem like a tough task but a car will actually make it easier. Most teenagers want freedom without responsibility but keeping them responsible might come down to the parent. Safe driving and good behavior sometimes go hand in hand. Drive safely!