Tips to Help Your Teen Drive Better
Updated March 1, 2022 . AmFam Team
From perfectly-timed turn signals to parking like a pro at the grocery store, your teen has mastered the basics of driving. Before they take their driving test and experience their newfound freedom, help them fine-tune their skills with new routes and routines that help them make smart, safe choices behind the wheel.
5 Ways To Improve Your Teen’s Driving Skills
Part of teaching your child how to drive is practicing the most common skills a driver needs on the road. Driving practice can help develop the confidence needed to maneuver around on the road. Supervised driving also allows you to set a good example for safe driving practices during traffic situations your child will face. Let’s review the five helpful tips below.
Harness the power of highways
Exposing your teen to the highway may seem like a leap of faith, but with a little practice, patience and confidence, your teen will be merging like a pro in no time!
To begin, practice going on and off ramps. Before merging on the highway with traffic, just use the ramp to give them the opportunity to feel and experience the steps necessary to enter the highway. A simple trip on and off the ramp should do it!
Next, practice merging with traffic and changing lanes. Teach your learning driver to check their blind spots for other motorists, and make smooth transitions between lanes when necessary.
Then, when they feel confident in these basic skills, try driving together in heavy, rush-hour traffic. Give them the feel for a highway at all times of the daily traffic cycle.
Practice the tricky stuff
Say hello to everyone’s (not so) favorite activities — parallel parking and parking on a hill. Though they may not be very popular, there will definitely be occasions where your teen will find themselves in need of these skills to park.
Rehearse in reverse
Reversing is a skill your teen will need to hone if they want to be good drivers on the road. Teach them how to back up in busy areas occupied by a variety of people, foot traffic and pedestrians. Like a busy parking lot, for example. Watch to make sure they physically look behind their car before pulling out and remember — always check your blind spots!
Master the elements
On a rainy or snowy day, drive to a familiar destination, and then try driving to a new destination. They will need to be comfortable driving in the elements, whatever those may be, to avoid hazardous behaviors down the line. For example, teach your teen about the added distance necessary to come to a complete stop when the ground is wet, icy or snowy. Let them compare the stopping distance in normal and inclement weather to get a good idea of the distance they’ll need when they drive.
The long haul
Sometimes, our adventures take us to far away destinations. Teach your student driver the skills needed for long distance trips. Prepare them to focus on the drive and to be comfortable in unfamiliar locations.
Take at least one road trip that’s an hour in each direction on a highway. Bonus points if you get ice cream somewhere along the way!
5 Ways to Help Your Teen Driver Drive Smarter
Part of a comprehensive driver’s education for your teen involves teaching key concepts of driving and discussing rules of the road. Ensure your learner’s permit driver understands how to maneuver the vehicle in the following situations, along with the do's and don'ts of driving.
Scenario planning
It’s completely possible that your teen won’t encounter certain situations before they get their license. Take time to talk through how to handle less common situations: pedestrian crossings, bike lanes, deer crossings, blind spots, etc.
Speedy stops
Practice the feel of stopping while driving 25 or 30 mph so they can get used to how the anti-lock brakes stop a vehicle. Learning the way a vehicle stops in various conditions, as previously mentioned, is a critical factor in driver education.
Prep for left
Practice making left turns in traffic – and explain how to avoid pulling in front of another car.
Learn the loop
Many cities and towns use roundabouts in conjunction with standard traffic signals. You may not see many of them near you but, if you have the opportunity, teach your driving student how to tackle roundabouts. Explain the rules of entering and leaving the circle — it’s a crucial piece of driver education. Hold on!
Introduce their trip buddy
Teach them how to follow GPS instructions safely while en route to a destination – like setting the endpoint before they even start driving.
Discuss the don’ts
Never drive without a seat belt. According to a 2012 study by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, teens with provisional and unrestricted licenses in states where seat belt laws are not strictly enforced are almost 15 percent less likely to wear a seatbelt as passengers or drivers than teens in states with more strict laws.
What this means is that if states do not reinforce the importance of seat belt use, teens may be less likely to buckle up, placing them at a much higher risk of injury, or worse, in a crash.
Obey speed limits. It’s easy for a new driver to underestimate the power of a vehicle, especially on the highway. As your teen works toward a driver license, teach them that speed limits are to always be obeyed for their safety and the safety of others on the road, too.
Leave the cell phone alone. In recent years, distracted driving due to texting has led to a significant increase in car crashes among younger drivers. Talk to your teen about the dangers of texting while driving and make sure they understand that the message can wait. Driving requires focus!
Drive sober, always. Drinking and driving is one of the leading factors in fatal crashes nationally.
This article is for informational purposes only and includes information widely available through different sources.
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Sending a text, eating your burrito, applying makeup — what do all of these tasks have in common?
They’re all everyday examples of distracted driving.
As a driver, it’s your responsibility to focus on the road to keep you, your passengers, and other people on the road safe from accidents. We’ve put a spotlight on some risky driving behaviors that we hope can help influence you to keep your focus on the road.
What is Distracted Driving?
Distracted driving is when the driver is doing something that takes their attention away from the task of driving. Any time your eyes and/or mind are taken away from the road, you’re technically distracted, which means an increase in the risk of an accident.
Not all driving distractions are created equal. As you can imagine, some forms of distraction aren’t as dangerous as others. For example, hands-free telephone conversations — although not recommended — isn’t as deadly as other modes of conversation while driving.
The Deadliest Driving Distraction: Texting and Driving
It should come as no surprise to you that texting is the most common distraction while driving as well as the most dangerous. It’s so deadly in fact, that it gets its very own section.
It’s easy for us all to see the dangers of texting while driving, but even with that knowledge, so many of us fall into the temptation of sending off a fast text message while behind the wheel. But even a quick text can have horrible consequences.
Just think, when you look at your phone, your focus is on the screen, not the road; one hand is off the wheel to hold your device, and your mind drifts to the message instead of the task at hand: driving safely.
Why texting is distracting
To put it into perspective, if you’re traveling at 55 MPH and you take your eyes off the road and onto your phone, you’ve traveled about 100 yards – the length of a football field! That’s quite a distance to cover driving “blind.”
The National Safety Council reports that one out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by a distracted driver who was texting. They also reported that texting and driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than driving while intoxicated.
Let these driving facts be a wake-up call to the extreme dangers of texting while driving.
Is it Illegal to Use Your Phone While Driving?
The truth is that it depends on which state you live in. As of 2020, the Governors Highway Safety Association reports that there is a hand-held cell phone use ban in 22 states, with 48 states banning text messaging for all drivers. Find out the distracted driving laws for your state to ensure you’re following the rules of the road in your state.
It’s always important to know our state laws, and in your state there may very well be no law preventing you from texting while driving. However, for your safety as well as those in your car, and for anyone else sharing the roads with you, it’s best to stick with a firm “no phone use while driving” mentality.
Types of Distracted Driving
The first step to preventing distracted driving is understanding what it is. In a nutshell, anything that occupies your attention while driving is a distraction. Here are a few notable distractors that should be eliminated while behind the wheel.
Checking your GPS
When it comes to directions, we’ve come a long way from the world of fold-up maps. Today, everyone has a built-in navigation system in the palm of their hands: the smartphone. The only problem is that just one quick glance at your phone’s screen is all it takes for a costly mistake behind the wheel.
Your best bet is to leave your phone in your pocket or purse when driving. But if you must use your phone for directions, enable the voice feature so that you don’t have to look at the screen for every turn.
Sifting through your music device
Trying to find the right song for your road trip is just as dangerous as texting and driving. Your best bet is to pick a playlist prior to getting into your vehicle. Or listen to the radio. The key here is to keep your eyes on the road and not on your music device.
Checking social media
Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, you name it – all of them bide for our constant attention. Don’t fall prey to this when you’re driving. That post, tweet, or message can wait. Avoid checking social media when behind the wheel.
Eating behind the wheel
You may be a pro at eating your burrito on the go, but ingesting your lunch while driving is a big no-no. All it takes is one wayward waffle fry to take your attention from the road to your lap. And it’s not just the mess that distracts; it’s the smell, taste, you name it – that makes eating one of the most distracting things you can do while driving.
Other types of distracted driving
There are a few more forms of distracted driving that could cause an accident. If you’re in the driver’s seat, try to avoid these altogether:
- Taking selfies
- Talking on the phone
- Drinking coffee or another beverage
- Putting on makeup
- Using an app
- Loud music
Top 5 Ways to Prevent Distracted Driving
There are easy ways to prevent distracted driving. Try using making these five simple changes distracted driving safety tips to have a safer driving experience.
Use a text-blocking app
There are many apps available that block texts while driving. Several apps exist with different features, ranging from ones that completely block any incoming or outgoing texts while going a certain speed, to apps that will send a message saying you’re unavailable to respond to an incoming text. Here’s a list from DMV.org with great suggestions for apps to fight distracted driving.
Have a passenger navigate for you
If you’re driving with a passenger (of an appropriate age), hand the directions to them. Even a not-so-great navigator in the passenger seat is better than the person behind the wheel being responsible for both driving and navigating. If you’re driving by yourself, take the time to look at the directions before you set off. Then turn the volume up and let the AI lead the way.
Make music selection easy
Make multiple playlists that you can choose from before starting the car. If you really need to change it up, either pull over or wait for a red light. Set your presets to stations you already know you like. Hitting one button is better than cranking the dial until you find music you like.
Don’t text while driving
If you’re behind the wheel, just put the phone away. Social media can wait. It’s not going anywhere — that we can promise. Are the notifications too tempting? Turn them off! No comment or new tweet is worth the risk.
Eat at home or while stopped
If you’re in a rush and want to keep things moving, consider the hazards of driving while eating behind the wheel. Hopefully you can recognize that the risks outweigh the temptation, and you can wait until you get to your destination to eat.
How Does Distracted Driving Affect Insurance?
For starters, getting into an at-fault accident will almost always make your insurance premium go up, simply because your insurance company now deems you a higher-risk driver. Distracted driving is no exception. Even if you avoid an accident but you get a ticket for distracted driving, you’re susceptible to those increases in insurance.
Why does distracted driving increase insurance? For starters, you may be getting a discount for having a clean driving record. But if you get a ticket, such as for texting while driving, you may no longer be eligible for that discount, and you’ll notice an increase in your premium. Another reason your insurance might go up goes back to being a higher risk. If you’re guilty of distracted driving, an insurance company will consider you a high-risk driver (meaning you’re more likely to file a claim due to an accident) and they’ll set your premiums higher.
Many of the discounts that insurance companies give out revolve around rewarding drivers for having no claims and a good driving record in general. Don’t let distracted driving take away those perks!
Protect Yourself From Distracted Drivers on the Road
Avoiding distracting driving behaviors is a great way to be safe on the road, and car insurance is a great way to stay protected from the unexpected. With American Family you can customize your car coverage to meet your unique needs. Talk to your agent today to find the right coverage for you.
The Insurance Information Institute claims driving while interacting with a mobile device can increase the odds of a crash by as much as 3.5 times, compared to the risks that a sober, alert and attentive driver faces. Teens are more susceptible to collisions, even when speaking hands-free on a mobile phone. Let’s explore the many ways you can help prevent distracted driving accidents.
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