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Teen Driving

Teen Driving
A license to drive shouldn't come with unlimited freedom. Parents need to continue setting limits and even driving with their teens while they gain some necessary experience and judgment behind the wheel.

What's Up?

If you think your teen's brand-new license to drive is your ticket to freedom, think again. Parents need to monitor their new drivers now, more than ever.

Teaching Your Teenager to Drive

What to Do and What to Expect
















The Statistics are Alarming



# Teen drivers have the highest crash risk of any age group.


# More of 16-year-olds' fatal crashes involve only the teen's vehicle.



# Teenagers generally are less likely than adults to use safety belts.


Your Teen Behind the Wheel: Will it Drive You Nuts?





But careful teen drivers are made, not born.

What Parents Can Do



Graduated Licensing Saves Lives






Set a Good Example


Other Factors, Not Age, Determine a Readiness to Drive

Maturity and responsibility are not time-acquired behaviors; that is, a child does not become mature at 16, 18, or 21, nor does he acquire appropriate responsibility at a specific age. These behaviors are acquired through learning. If your child is not showing an appropriate level of maturity or responsibility for his age, he has not learned them.


Responsibility generally means doing what you have to do because you have to do it, not because you want to do it. It involves duties, chores, and other tasks. On the part of the teenager, it may involve schoolwork, picking up after himself, taking care of his room, coming home on time, and many other similar behaviors.

Helping the Teenager Develop Appropriate Behavior

If you have a teenager whose emotional attitude and behavior are not at a level that would allow you to trust him and let him get a driver's license or use the car, there are several things that can be done to help build this trust.

Being able to earn a driver's license and drive are powerful motivators during adolescence. They can be used to the parent's positive advantage. Use of the car and driving privileges should be based on behavior, not age. Try to look for responsible and mature behaviors that indicate the child is capable enough to handle this privilege. If you feel that you cannot trust the child to drive because he is not showing appropriate behaviors in other areas, spell out exactly what he must do to earn this privilege. Monitor his behavior and give or take away the privilege consistently. He should know exactly what he has to do in order to obtain his driver's license or use the car. He should also know what he must or must not do in order to be restricted from these privileges.

If you are like most parents, when your teenager begins taking the steps towards getting a driver's license, you will experience intermittent waves of anxiety and excitement. Anxiety over the prospect of your child driving a car; after all, driving accidents are the leading cause of death among American youth. (In 2000, for example, there were over 2 million teenage driving accidents and over 6,000 fatalities.) Excitement over your new-found freedom from having to play chauffeur on twenty-four-hour call. But just below the surface of these two dominant emotions, most parents will detect a small current of grief. And this grief is twofold.

The car is an integral part of most teenagers' lives, whether they choose to get their licenses or not. Smart parents understand this reality and work with it to improve the connection they have with their teenager. Recognizing that sitting together in the car, whether they are sitting side by side or front and back, is a natural setting for the new relationship of parent as consultant. The intensity of face-to-face contact is diminished, which allows for more flow in conversation. Never be surprised by what is said in the car, whether it be on a short trip to the grocery store, on a long journey for summer vacation, or in a typical Tuesday carpool. Big moments happen during transitions, which means rides in the car-by definition always a transition-present a myriad of opportunities.

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