National Teen Driver Safety Week is October 17-23, 2022. All Star Driver Education would like to remind our teens to help teens become safer behind the wheel. Michigan, along with the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, has implemented the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) System. The GDL system requires a young driver to gain experience behind the wheel before earning full driving privileges. To learn more about Michigan’s GDL, refer to Michigan’s Graduated Driver Licensing: A Guide for Parents.
Some of the top risks that teens face behind the wheel are speeding, not using a safety belt, passengers, distracted driving, and impaired driving.
Speeding
When you speed, you are more likely to lose control of your vehicle and more likely to crash. You increase the distance your vehicle needs to stop and decrease the time you must react to what is going on around you. Speeding also reduces the effectiveness of your vehicle’s safety features (safety belts, airbags, etc.) The next time you speed, consider that you have less room to stop your vehicle, less time to react to hazards, less effective safety equipment, and a greater chance of crashing.
Safety Belt Use
Using your safety belt is one of the easiest ways to reduce your risk behind the wheel. In 2020, 2,276 people were killed in crashes involving a teen driver (between 15- and 18-years-old). 52% of teen passenger vehicle drivers who died in 2020 were unbuckled. Even in a crash or collision, your safety belt will keep you from colliding with the interior parts of your vehicle and keep you from being propelled outside of your vehicle.
Passengers
Passengers in your vehicle can take your focus away from driving, and since teens still lack experience and maturity, the risk is even greater for teen drivers. Although your teen is limited to one peer passenger in his/her vehicle, remind your teen to set rules and expectations for all passengers inside their vehicle. One of the best ways to reduce the risk that passengers pose to your teen is for your teen to ask his/her passengers to be a second pair of eyes while he/she drives.
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving is one of the greatest problems we face. Remember to reward your teen for distraction-free and crash/collision-free driving. This will show your teen that you recognize and appreciate their effort to drive safely.
Impaired Driving
Driving impaired includes driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs and driving while distracted, drowsy, or ill. Your teen already knows that he/she should not possess alcohol or other drugs and that he/she should not drive under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Please take the time, however, to speak with your teen about what he/she should do if they find themselves in a situation where they must consider whether to drive impaired or ride with a driver that is impaired. Also inform your teen that driving distracted, driving while drowsy, and driving while suffering from a temporary illness can impair their abilities behind the wheel just as much as driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
Driver education is an excellent way to prepare your teen for life on the road and the risks that driving poses. The number one thing you can do for your teen, however, is to drive like a role model!
Authored by: Eman Youssef – Curriculum Manager
