How many of you know a teen driver? How many of you have had a teen crash your car? Let's be honest, how many of you crashed your parent's car when you were a teen? There is no doubt that teens are more dangerous behind the wheel than adults. Statistics bear this out as do astronomical insurance rates. The reasons are many and can be reduced to two main categories: lack of maturity and inexperience. In a nutshell, good drivers aren't born, they are trained. The more we can do to educate our teens and set guidelines, the safer they will be. The purpose of this article is to empower you with proactive strategies to keep your teen driver safe.

Why am I so passionate about this? The statistics are shocking: Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of our teens. More than 5,000 teenagers die in car accidents every year. Frankly, these numbers are unacceptable and there is a lot we can do to improve these statistics. In this article, I will share with you seven (7) strategies to keep your teen driver safe.

No. 1 - TEACH YOUR KIDS - SPELL OUT THE DANGERS
Immaturity + inexperience = potential for disaster

Teens have poor judgment because the brain's prefrontal cortex - which handles things such as controlling impulses - isn't fully formed. While adults don't act on all those impulses and sort through them, teens have difficulty doing this. Moreover, teens have difficulty comprehending that a motor vehicle is a dangerous instrumentality which can cause injury or death.

In a recent survey of 5,600 teens, researchers found huge gaps in their knowledge. For example:

Only 28% said using a cell phone is a risk:
Only 10% thought having other teens in the car was a distraction;
Only 50% acknowledged speeding is a hazard;
Only half cited that not wearing a seatbelt is dangerous; and
Only 16% admit that they have observed teen drinking and driving while
25% of young drivers killed in crashes had been drinking.

No. 2 - WEAR YOUR SEATBELT
Teens are less likely to wear their seatbelts than any other age group. In fact, more than half of the teens killed on the road were not buckled up.

No. 3 - NO DRIVING LATER THAN 10 PM
Nearly half of teen death crashes happen at night; more specifically between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.

No. 4 - NO MORE THAN ONE PASSENGER
The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases further with the number of teen passengers.

No. 5 - BAN CELL PHONES EVEN WITH A HEAD SET
When people are listening to a cell phone conversation, they are slower to respond to things they are looking at. In fact, simulated studies prove that a driver with a .08% blood alcohol content is faster to brake and cause fewer crashes than sober people talking on a cell phone.

Drivers tend to stare straight ahead while using a cell phone and are less influenced by peripheral vision. In a recent study, drivers talking on a hands-free phone failed to stop at a designated rest area which was part of the test.

We have all seen the horrific videos of deaths related to texting while driving. The highest number of auto fatalities are caused by an inadvertent lane change. In recent years, the cause of the lane change have been attributed to manual manipulation of a cell phone (either dialing or texting). This leads to an even greater risk of accident and death.

There are several new services under development which will limit or prevent the use of a cell phone when the engine is on.

No. 6 - FIGHT FOR STRICTER STATE LAWS
Several states have laws which take into account strategies we have already discussed. Experts suggest that an ideal law would set the minimum age for a beginner's permit to age 16, limit passengers to one (1), ban cell phones, prohibit driving between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. and not allow a full license until age 18.

No. 7 - GET TOUGH AT HOME
Let your teen know that driving is a privilege not a right. With it go certain rules. If your teen is unable to follow the rules, the privilege is lost.

There are also financial incentives to following these simple rules. Teen crashes cost us over 34 billion annually. We all know that insurance rates will go up if your teen is cited with an infraction or causes a collision. On the other hand, some insurance companies will give discounts for such things as:

The completion of a driver's education course;
A "B" average or above grade point average; and cell phone control devices that limit the use of a cell phone while the engine is on.