Parents Are Encouraged to Teach their Teens About Defensive Driving

As an experienced driver, you know that your own driving behaviors cannot prevent all accidents. Safe driving requires you to remain watchful of virtually everything around you. This is known as defensive driving, and you probably did not learn it in school. In fact, to this day, teenagers continue to learn little about defensive driving in their driver education classes.

A Traffic Citation Helped Make Defensive Driving Techniques Available to all Drivers

After receiving a speeding ticket in 2005, Bob Ragazzo chose the option of taking a defensive driving class rather than paying the ticket. In that class, he was amazed by how many defensive driving techniques he never learned in driver education classes.

Concerned about his children and other teen drivers, he knew he had to get the word out. He became a certified defensive driving instructor before starting Save Your Teen Driver, LLC. Ragazzo then published a free e-book to make sure everyone can learn the lessons he learned, all thanks to a traffic citation.

The Six Root Causes of Most Auto Accidents

Young drivers do not have the experience to recognize the hazards they face every time they take a car on the road. Caring parents need to bridge the gap by frequently stressing the following six points to their children:

• Avoid driving too fast for conditions: Adverse weather conditions, such as wet roads or reduced visibility, should determine how fast they drive, regardless of the speed limit.
• Watch your following distance: A safe following distance differs based on many situations, ranging from weather to the condition of any given roadway. Teens need to instinctively know the right distance to maintain, as well as the importance of getting out of the way when another driver gets too close.
• Be aware of all areas of the road: Hazards are all around a vehicle, which is why cars have mirrors. Drivers must make it a habit to use their mirrors every four to eight seconds.
• Interpret the attitude of other drivers: All drivers should remain calm behind the wheel no matter what. Just as important, teens also need to learn to see the signs of road rage in other drivers and get out of the way as soon as possible.
• Hazards can appear without warning: A hill or a minor bend in the road can be enough to hide a blown truck tire or even an animal. Inexperienced drivers must learn to know when to slow down and how to scan the road ahead.
• Monitor other drivers: Teen drivers do not intuitively recognize signs that other drivers represent a risk. Parents are encouraged to warn that speeding vehicles or those that swerve between lanes or display erratic behaviors are dangerous. Teens should let them pass and drive away, even if it means pulling over for a few minutes.

Parents Can Bridge the Gap Between Training and Experience for Their Teen Drivers

Even defensive driving training cannot guarantee that children are protected from every auto accident, but the techniques mentioned are believed to reduce the fatality rate of young drivers by as much as 50 percent. Of course, parents should also make sure their children know how to handle accidents and when to turn to a motor vehicle accident attorney for assistance. For further advice, call us at 800-948-0577, or use our convenient online contact form for a free initial consultation.