Teen Driving 101: 4 Dangers New Drivers Should Avoid

School’s out! Unfortunately, in regard to teenagers, more free time often just means more opportunities to get themselves into some sort of pickle. While dealing with social drama might feel like the end of the world for a teen, the biggest dangers they face will likely be on the road.

Car accidents are the leading cause of death amongst teens and adolescents. Because of this, it’s important that your teen knows about and respects the potential dangers that come with driving. Below, you can find a few of the most common dangerous behaviors amongst teenage drivers.

If your teen is involved in an accident, you may need to file an insurance claim or even take another driver to court. Today, your savvy Houston car accident attorneys at Lapeze & Johns, PLLC , will identify the four dangers your new young driver should avoid.

Distracted driving is perhaps the biggest danger faced by teens because it represents so many different situations. While texting and driving is a common example, eating, doing their makeup, or talking to friends while behind the wheel can all put your teen at risk.

Before taking passengers and friends in their car, your teen should have at least three months of experience driving alone or with an adult driver present after they’ve gotten their license. Phones should be turned off, and all food should be finished before stepping into the car.

Due to a lack of experience, teens often underestimate the dangers posed by reckless driving. Without having experienced one yourself, it can be difficult to acknowledge the fact that car accidents can happen to even the most careful drivers. Driving at high speeds or making sharp turns can be incredibly tempting for teen drivers who don’t take roadway safety seriously.

To help your teen avoid reckless driving, serve as a good role model for roadway safety, and continuously reiterate the importance of being a responsible driver. After all, car accidents can involve far more than just the reckless driver themselves.

Another, unfortunately, common behavior amongst teen drivers is driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. Again, due to a lack of experience both with driving and intoxication, teens may overestimate their ability to drive after drinking.

A lack of planning before parties or events where alcohol will be available is also a common cause for teenage drunk driving.

If your teen is more afraid of getting caught drinking than driving drunk, you have a problem. While it’s important to discourage teenage drinking, let your teen know that you would much rather have them wake you up for a ride home in the middle of the night than get a call saying they’ve been in an avoidable drunk driving accident.

Balancing these two aspects of parenting is unquestionably challenging, but given the danger posed by teenage drunk driving, it’s a conversation that has to happen.

Teens may rush to drive alone or with friends, but letting an inexperienced driver get behind the wheel without the oversight of an adult driver can lead to serious accidents. Everyone makes a driving mistake now and again, but teen drivers don’t always have the experience needed to even tell when they’ve done something unsafe.

Make sure that before your teen driver takes the car out on their own, that they’re completely familiar with safe driving habits and what to do if an accident does happen.

Getting in a car accident can be frightening for anyone, but it can be especially terrifying for young, inexperienced drivers. Talk to your teen today about what they should do if they are ever involved in a car accident, and remember that, if an accident does take place, your teen may be owed compensation if someone else was responsible for the crash.

Reach out to us at Lapeze & Johns for help determining if your teen was at fault for their accident, as well as what to do to get the coverage you need.

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Teen Driving 101: 4 Dangers New Drivers Should Avoid

Lapeze & Johns