Teen drivers take risks. They break the speed limit. They know they shouldn’t, but they do it anyway.
Parents often wonder what they can do to stop it. When they’re in the car with the teen, he or she drives perfectly, but they’re worried that the teen is a very different driver when hitting the streets alone. Below are three ways that parents may have an impact.
1. Making the teen pay for the insurance.
Obviously, you may not ask your teen to cover the entire cost if it’s a shared car, but putting this responsibility on the teen makes him or her take the car more seriously. The teen will also want to avoid tickets and accidents just so that the financial cost doesn’t go up.
2. Taking action after a ticket.
Yes, a speeding ticket is supposed to be enough of a deterrent to keep people from speeding in the future, but it may not be. The teen may view it as a bad luck. Parents need to take action to show that they support the police and don’t want the child to speed.
3. Not speeding.
Teens watch what parents do. If a parent tells a teen never to speed and then breaks the speed limit every time they’re in the car together, the teen isn’t going to take it seriously. Children, even teens, mimic their parents. Safe driving sets a good example.
Unfortunately, teens are still very likely to speed and take other risks behind the wheel. When an accident leaves you with significant injuries, you need to know your legal options.
Source: Drive Home Safe, “How Parents Can Stop Their Teen Drivers From Speeding?,” accessed June 30, 2017