Drive to Survive: why some driver’s ed for teens is a good idea
Do you have teens anxious to get behind the wheel? It’s a terrifying stage of parenthood for many folks. When it is time for your teen to learn to drive, not only do you want full and proper insurance coverage, you want them to have mad driving skills. After all, there are a lot of crazies on the road!
So do you have what it takes to pass these survival skills along? Or do you need to hire a driver’s ed company? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Am I a patient teacher?
Equipping your teen to drive safely and avoid unnecessary auto accidents takes time, practice, and patience. Loads of patience! Are you ready for that?
Am I a good example?
Step back and take a long look at yourself. What is your driving record like?
Do you have a history of at-fault car crashes? Loads of speeding tickets?
Hopefully not a DUI on your record, right? If you’re not pretty clean, you should consider deferring to someone else to teach your teen.
Do I or my spouse have time to invest in hours of driver instruction?
You and I both know it’s a dangerous road out there. Not only does your teen have to deal with their own lack of driving experience, they will have to deal with the reckless and sometimes dangerous driving of others. You will need to plan to spend many hours beside your teen as they drive in many different situations and weather. (Just no tornado chasing, okay?)
Does your teen listen to you …fairly well?
Ah! There’s the rub for a number of parents. If your teen constantly tunes you out, teaching them to drive is likely to make these issues worse. You need to know your teen will listen fairly well as you give driving instructions. Patiently, of course!
How well do you know the traffic laws?
Many of us could use a refresher course, right? Things change over the years.
Some of us, well, know family members or friends we wish we could send to driving school.
Of course, this is no excuse to shuffle the job to someone else. Get the Driver’s Handbook out and review! You could make it a trivia game with your teen.
Is your child’s life worth the risk?
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among teens aged 16-19! Honestly, considering all the distractions available to drivers today, that’s not too surprising. You want to do your best to protect them against a tragic car accident!
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html
Actually, the best option is parental training and a driver’s ed class.
After all, you are the person who cares the most for your child’s well-being, right?
Pick the safest parent teacher. You get a refresher course in defensive driving as you teach your teen what you know.
You’ve lived this long already! Your experience really does count.
Happily, whatever they learn from you is reinforced by an outside authority. That way it’s not just what Dad and Mom say. Your teen may even end up being impressed with your driver savvy. If not, it’s time to take them out go-cart racing!
Good news! If you pay for defensive driving classes, you can save on your teen’s auto insurance.
While driver’s ed is not mandatory in the state of Missouri , defensive driving classes do save you money in the long run. Most insurance companies will offer a 5% to 15% discount for certified completion of defensive driving or even an online driving class.
https://www.dmv.com/mo/missouri/drivers-ed
At The Law Offices of Nathan Steimel, LLC, we think defensive driving safety is important! It’s like eating healthy food, exercising, and getting your regular check-ups.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Knowledge and practice! That’s what it takes to build a safe driving experience for your teen. If you or your teen should end up in an auto accident, you can protect your legal rights by calling our car crash attorneys at (636)244-3737.
http://steimel-law.com/personal-injury.html
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