4 Defensive Driving Tips for the New Teen Driver

As a parent of a new driver, you tense up every time your child gets behind the wheel. There are an estimated 37.2 million injury-related emergency room visits each year according to the CDC, and you pray your child isn’t one of them. You trust them and their newfound freedom, but you know how dangerous the roads can be. Rather than sheltering your child, or stressing every time they take the car, you can teach them the skills they need to be defensive drivers.

Defensive driving can be the deciding difference between a life or death situation on the road, and it’s imperative that your children have these skills. Here are a few defensive driving tips for your children to ensure that they stay safe and you can relax.

Stay Focused

Even though it may not always feel like it, driving is a mental task. It requires constant attention and focus. There are numerous things that require your attention when you’re behind the wheel: your speed, the cars around you, road signs and traffic lights, weather conditions, and much more. Therefore, it’s important that you remain focused during your travels and avoid any distractions. Texting, eating, applying makeup, and anything else that takes your attention away from the road are inherently dangerous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report which noted a 5.6% increase in car accident fatalities from 2015 to 2016, with 37,461 fatalities in the later year. Many of those accidents could have very well been attributed to distracted drivers. It isn’t just teens who fall victim to distracted driving either, even the most experienced drivers become distracted. So paying attention is your number one defense.

Don’t Trust Other Drivers

Believing that the other drivers around you will react correctly or abide by traffic laws will often result in disappointment. It’s up to you to be the reactive one, the one that’s paying attention and driving the way you should be. Don’t assume that the guy in front of you will use his turn signal to warn you of the hard right turn he’s about to take. Ensuring you’re following behind him at a safe distance and giving yourself enough time to break is what you can do in this situation to be on the defense. In the event of a vehicular or motorcycle accident, make sure to speak to a qualified car accident law firm or motorcycle accident injury lawyer. An experienced auto and motorcycle accident lawyer can help protect and defend your rights. 

Look Farther Down the Road

You should get used to looking farther down the road, despite how hard it can be to break the habit of looking right in front of you. A good driver, specifically a defensive one, is aware of their surroundings at all time. They can almost predict what is going to happen and prepare for it. You don’t have to be clairvoyant to have good intuition. So, get into the habit of looking farther down the road. It broadens your view of the road and allows you to not only see multiple car lengths in front of you but to either side as well. That way, if someone breaks hard seven cars ahead of you, or a light turns yellow on a high-speed road, you’re not reacting at the very last second.

Have a Plan

Driving seems like an in-the-moment kind of thing, and it is. However, you should always have a plan for the what-if situations that go hand-in-hand with getting behind the wheel. These are often plans formed in the back of your head, ones that you’re not completely aware of. They go into action when a deer runs across the road, or the driver in front of you hits something. You’ll need to figure out what you’d do in that situation, and how you would get yourself out unscathed.

As with most things in life, you should drive within your limits. You can always get better and improve those limitations, but tackling a situation you aren’t prepared for can be a mistake. Learn the ways of the road, get accustomed to being around other drivers, and know what situations make you uncomfortable. If you live in a big city and aren’t comfortable driving in heavy traffic, then take the bus. Out of all motorcoach passenger trips in 2012, 50.6% of them were taken by students and seniors. So don’t think you’re the only one who isn’t a professional driver just yet. Being comfortable behind the wheel takes time and experience, but you’ll get there eventually.