Motor vehicle accidents are the second leading cause of death of teens in the U.S., according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This news can cause anxiety levels in parents of teen drivers to spike.
The CDC also reports that teen car crashes are often preventable and there are strategies you can teach your teen to improve their driving safety.
How to Reduce Parent Anxiety About Teen Driving
Parents of teen drivers can play role models and influencers when it comes to good driving habits. Training a teen to be a responsible and safe driver can help them stay out of accidents and avoid tickets. That will not only drop anxiety levels in parents but help their car insurance rates.
While your teen is learning to drive, have regular conversations about safe driving. You don’t want to intimidate your teenager with scary statistics, but sharing some can help them understand your concerns.
For instance, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times as likely to be in a fatal car crash as drivers ages 20 or older. Sharing this with your teen driver can help them see why you’re insistent they focus on the road and not their smartphone when behind the wheel.
Creating a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement can set clear expectations for your teen driver and consequences for breaking rules. These guidelines let you both get on the same page and aid in reducing anxiety.
Here are tips to help your teen driver stay safe behind the wheel.
Discourage distracted driving
Distracted driving is a widespread problem affecting both adult and teen drivers. Over 360,000 people were injured and more than 3,500 were killed in car accidents involving distracted driving in the most recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data.
Distracted driving is defined as any activity that diverts your attention from driving, including:
- Eating and drinking
- Talking with passengers
- Adjusting your infotainment system (like the radio or GPS)
- Talking, texting or using apps on your phone
Get familiar with your state’s graduated licensing laws and implement the guidelines, which should help your teen with distractions.
As a parent, you want to discourage your teen from any risky behavior that takes their eyes off the road, but you can also encourage them to use technology in a way that eliminates the need to handle their phone while driving. For example, many cars are equipped with Bluetooth, allowing you to use your phone hands-free.
Staying off the phone is vital to staying out of car crashes. The NHTSA notes that dialing a phone number while driving increases a teen’s risk of having an accident by six times, and texting while driving raises the risk by 23 times.
Smartphones also have features that disable drivers from receiving text messages and notifications while driving. Android’s “Driving Mode” connects to your car and sets your phone to “do not disturb,” while Apple offers a “Do Not Disturb While Driving,” which disables text messages and other notifications.
Encourage your teens to set their navigation routes and pick out their music ahead of time. “Use your phone for good,” says Tricia Morrow-Groustra, a safety engineer for General Motors. “Make that playlist and start it before you drive.”
Distracted Driving Deaths
| Type | Percentage of deaths |
|---|---|
|
Drivers
|
64%
|
|
Pedestrians
|
17%
|
|
Passengers
|
16%
|
|
Bicyclists
|
2%
|
Source: NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis; 2021
Encourage Buckling Up
In the last decade, we’ve seen numerous advancements in safety technology in vehicles, like forward collision alerts and lane assist. But for all the safety innovations, seat belts are still the best way to protect yourself.
The vast majority of Americans use seat belts. The NHTSA estimates that nearly 92% of Americans buckle up. NHTSA’s most recent stats found that seat belts saved nearly 15,000 lives in one year, but there were still over 2,500 lives lost that would have been prevented if the people were wearing seat belts. More than half of teen drivers killed in crashes weren’t wearing seat belts.
Having a conversation with your teen about the importance of wearing a seat belt and the potentially fatal consequences of car accidents is crucial.
“We know that teens self-report that they don’t wear seatbelts all the time,” says Morrow-Groustra. “Seat belts are still the primary restraint in your vehicle, and they are still the No. 1 thing you can do to protect yourself in an accident.”
Drive Like You’re on Candid Camera
Good teen driving behavior starts with parents being good driver role models. But too many parents are shirking their responsibilities and leading by bad example. And when it comes to using smartphone apps, parents are almost as bad as the kids. Thirty-seven percent of parents use apps while driving compared to 38% of teens, according to a survey by Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Using an app or checking a text might seem harmless, but consider this: Taking your eyes off of the road for five seconds to read a text at 55 mph is like driving the length of a football field while blindfolded.
Set a good example by putting your phone down, even when you’re alone. Need a trick? Drive like you’re on camera.
“When I drive, sometimes I pretend there’s a video camera on me,” says Morrow-Groustra. “How would I want to be perceived? The rules of the road are really the same for everyone.”
Promote Driving Experience
It’s no surprise that a lack of driving experience contributes to teen driving accidents. Even without a lot of miles under their belts, teens tend to overestimate their abilities and underestimate the dangers of the road.
“Teens fall into the trap of inexperience,” says Morrow-Groustra. “I always tell my daughter, if you do something 10,000 times, you’ll be good at it. You’ve only driven 100 times. You’re not good at it yet.”
Speeding and overconfident driving is a major concern for teen drivers. Speeding was a factor in 32% of fatal crashes with teen drivers, according to the NHTSA. Studies conducted by the Journal of Safety Research show evidence that teens’ speeding increases over time and that risky driving is more than five times higher among inexperienced drivers in their first 18 months of having their driver’s license compared to adults.
The indicators of the highest causes of fatalities, such as seat belt use, speed and distracted driving are the same for both adults and teens. But fatality rates are higher among teens compared to adults. That’s due to inexperience, says Morrow-Groustra.
Help Your Teens to Know Their Vehicle
You might think you know your car, but how well do you really know it? It’s easy to overlook advancements in car safety features. In fact, we may not be aware we have these features in our car or have them turned off.
For example, the Chevrolet “following distance indicator” can use cameras and radar to display the gap time between you and the vehicle you’re following. This safety feature can be a valuable learning tool to help prevent teen drivers from tailgating. But if the feature isn’t turned on or you don’t know it exists, you won’t get any benefit from it.
“Getting to know our vehicle and explaining it to our teens also highlights many things that we maybe didn’t grow up with. Things like automatic emergency braking, forward collision alert and following distance indicators,” says Morrow-Groustra. “When you get in the mode of teaching, it helps to understand your subject matter.”
It’s a good idea to find your car’s manual and re-familiarize yourself with your car’s safety features. And don’t think of safety technology as a crutch for a teen driver. Think of it as a learning tool.
“A lot of people have said, ‘Oh, the kids are relying on them,’ but they’re not relying on them,” says Morrow-Groustra. “They might have gotten into a crash otherwise. Instead, they learned a lesson without wrinkling their fender or injuring themselves.”
Don’t forget to teach your teen fundamental car maintenance skills. View the Glove Box Guide at Beyond the Driving Test for basic tips on brake lights, fluids, tires and wipers.
Teach Teens the Rules of the Road
When you have decades of experience and countless miles, driving can seem like second nature. But if you’re educating your teen on the rules of the road, it makes sense you understand them yourself.
“It’s been helpful to me to step back to the basics,” says Morrow-Groustra. “I would encourage people to not only look at their local and state guidelines, but also, NHTSA.gov has a tremendous amount of resources on safe-driving tips and general rules of the road.”
Good teen driving habits start with you. It doesn’t hurt to brush up on your state’s driver handbook.
Get a Report Card
If you’re in teaching mode, a good way to evaluate your teen’s driving skills is with a report card. That doesn’t mean you sit in the passenger seat with a clipboard and check off a bunch of boxes. Rather, let technology assist you.
There are smartphone apps that can connect to your car’s Bluetooth or devices that connect to your car’s OBD-II port that can score driving habits like speeding, harsh braking and smartphone distraction.
Some cars also come equipped with safe driving technology. For example, some models of Chevrolets offer built-in systems that help you coach your teen driver, even when you’re not in the car. In addition to setting speed alerts and radio volume limits, Chevrolet’s Teen Driver Technology also has an in-vehicle report card that gives you information about your teen’s driving and helps identify problems that they can improve upon.
Morrow-Groustra at General Motors jokes that as a mother and safety engineer, she can be a bit critical of her daughter’s driving, but a report card helps dispel any teenage angst.
“The data-driven approach really works. It’s not me judging her, it’s the car telling her how she can improve,” Morrow-Groustra says.
Tell Teens that Safe Driving Can Save Money Down the Road
Teen driver safety is paramount for both your teens and your wallet. Finding cheap car insurance for teens isn’t always easy and adding an inexperienced teen driver to your policy can more than double your rates.
Okay, now that you’ve recovered from the sticker shock, here’s the good news: There are ways you can save.
Over time, as your teen driver gains experience and avoids car accidents and traffic violations, your car insurance rates will go down. It doesn’t happen overnight, but rates generally start to go down at age 25. Keeping auto accidents off the teen’s record will also give you a considerable savings advantage. It pays off (eventually) to preach safe driving habits.
In the immediate future, there may be other ways you can save. One of the best ways is by asking your auto insurance agent about car insurance discounts. Your teen might qualify for a good student discount or a driver training discount.
Keep Calm and Be Supportive
If you’re calm and encouraging from the passenger seat, your teen driver will be less nervous behind the wheel. Research by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found parents who are supportive, set limits and stay involved can cut teen drivers’ risk of crashing in half.
You can set your teen driver up for success by being there for them during their highs and lows of driving. Teach them the basics of car maintenance. Instill the necessity to ready the car’s interior—the temperature, navigation, playlist and put their phone on do not disturb—before starting the car. Help train your teen on the rules of the road but be patient and watch your tone as you give feedback.
CHOP offers parents driving lesson plans and video tips, such as how to create the right learning environment inside the vehicle so your teen will be open to instruction. Tips for parents include keeping calm while your teen is driving and speaking in a firm but relaxed voice when giving guidance.
Safe Vehicles for Teen Drivers
If you’re considering getting your teen a used car, you’re in good company. A past survey of parents of teen drivers by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that 83% of parents who bought their teens a car purchased a used vehicle. That survey inspired the IIHS to publish a list of affordable used cars that meet certain safety criteria, like vehicle reliability, performance in braking and emergency-handling tests.
The IIHS has since teamed up with Consumer Reports and put together a list of safe used cars for teens, divided into two tiers: best choices and good choices. The prices range from $6,000 to almost $20,000. You can view the full list here.
Best Used Car Choices For Teen Drivers
Good Used Cars Choices for Teen Drivers
Best Car Insurance Companies 2024
With so many choices for car insurance companies, it can be hard to know where to start to find the right car insurance. We've evaluated insurers to find the best car insurance companies, so you don't have to.
