How to Help Your Teen Prevent Car Accidents

How to Help Your Teen Prevent Car Accidents

You can help your teen prevent car accidents in various ways. Student driving courses, hands-on experience, instruction for changing road conditions and driving under the influence, and parental guidance are all necessary measures to ensure your teen has all the tools they need to prevent car accidents.

The most common causes of teen driver accidents include:

Inexperience
Lack of driver training
Excessive speed
Road rage
Distracted driving
Drinking and driving
Drowsy driving

Student Driving Courses

There are many student driving programs throughout the State of Utah that offer excellent training. The cost is minimal for the number of hours, the content of instruction, and the experience of the instructors. This is an outstanding opportunity for any young driver. Our Provo accident attorneys encourage this option.

Several things a student driver learns as part of a driving course may involve:

Posture and positioning
Dealing with road rage
Being an observant defensive driver
Driving in different types of weather
Driving with pets in the vehicle
Driving to school
Driving with friends
Handling curves
Merging into traffic properly
Parallel parking
Judging distance, timing, and braking
Getting a feel for the steering wheel, gears, and dashboard
Getting hands-on experience
Road safety

Hands-On Experience

Nothing prepares a student driver like hands-on experience behind the wheel and on the road. Help your teen be prepared to prevent car accidents by allowing them patient time and training both as part of a drivers’ education course and with you personally. Make it a fun bonding experience, and you will both be rewarded.

Instruction for Changing Road Conditions

With instructions for changing road conditions, whether due to weather conditions or road construction, your teen will benefit from knowing how to handle the situation. This instruction will be part of an educational course; however, nothing replaces the nurturing guidance a parent can give.

Instruction for Driving Under the Influence

The only instruction for driving under the influence is, “Don’t do it.” You will need to drive this message into your teen’s training over and over again. Be sure to give them options for what to do if they drink and need to get home safely.

Parental Guidance

Parents often don’t realize that their kids watch them and emulate their actions. The first thing you can do to help your teen prevent car accidents is to be a good role model.

Secondly, teens listen. They may act like they don’t, but they hear your words and take them to heart. Giving them encouraging advice without nagging is crucial to helping them with road safety.

These are a few things parents can encourage their teens to do to be safe while driving:

Buckle up every time they get into a vehicle.
Drive the speed limit.
Slow down in bad weather or when rounding curves.
Stay a safe distance from other cars, allowing time for unexpected stops, etc.
Be aware of your surroundings, watching for animals and obstacles to enter their path.
Never drink and drive.
Never drive when sleepy.
Turn their phone off or put it on silent.
Never text and drive or use any handheld device while driving.
Pay attention every second they are on the road.
Never run a stop sign or red light.

Student driving courses, hands-on experience, instruction for changing road conditions and driving under the influence, and parental guidance are crucial in preparing your teen to avoid and prevent car accidents. One other important educational tool to give your teen is the facts of the realities of an accident occurring.

Educate Your Teen on the Realities of an Accident Occurring

As a vital part of your teen’s training, don’t forget to include the discussion of statistics and what to do if an accident occurs while they are driving. Each has severe implications, whether regarding life and death, morals, or legal liability. Any Provo car accident attorney would encourage this preventative measure.

Statistics are Sobering but Important

Being honest and straight up with your teen about the statistics and the often brutal reality of auto accidents helps them understand the importance of safe driving. Your teen needs to know and understand these facts. Your Provo teenage car accident attorney would agree that having this information could help your teen think twice before making a risky driving error.

These are a few statistics to consider:

Teens are more likely to have an auto accident than more experienced drivers.
According to the CDC, nearly 2,400 teens died, and 258,000 were injured in car accidents in 2019.
The Utah Department of Public Safety determined that teen drivers were responsible for the most accidents in 2020.

Dos and Don’ts if an Accident Occurs

Along with understanding the statistics of car accidents in their age group, teens must also grasp the dos and don’ts of an accident while they are driving. Utah car accident attorneys agree that each of the following tips is significant for moral, responsible, and legal reasons.

Make sure your teen remembers to do all the following if they are involved in an auto accident:

Do not leave the scene even if you are scared.
Do stay calm.
Do call 911 if there are any injuries.
Don’t admit liability.
Don’t avoid the authorities.
Don’t tamper with evidence.
Don’t become belligerent, aggressive, or combative.
Do give your identifying information.
Do get the other driver’s identifying information and auto insurance contact information.
Do get the names and contact information of any witnesses if possible.
Do call your parents.
Do call your auto insurance provider.
Do call our office immediately.

At Howard Lewis & Petersen, Utah accident attorneys, we understand how stressful and dramatic car accidents can be regardless of who causes them or how they happen. The best strategy for avoiding accidents is planning and education. Giving your teen the knowledge to prevent car accidents is the best thing you can do. However, if an accident does occur, we can help.

Howard Lewis & Petersen Law Firm Can Help with Car Accidents

The reality of life is that car accidents will happen no matter how much education, training, and preparation a driver has obtained. If you are involved in a car accident, it is critical that you get legal representation as quickly as possible to protect yourself and your assets. At Howard Lewis & Petersen Law Firm, we can help if you find your teen in a situation and need a UT teenage car accident attorney.

Our expert Provo accident attorneys are ready to help. Don’t wait. Let us help alleviate your stress and anxiety and be the rock you need to lean on. Call our friendly office staff today to schedule your consultation.