|
My daughter just turned 16 and wants to get her driver’s license. I just read an article about five upstate teenage girls who died in a car crash where it appears no alcohol was involved. How can I make sure my daughter drives and stays safe?
Parents can be the strongest influence on teenage driving habits. Always set a good example: don’t use alcohol, medications, cell phones, or other electronic devices while driving, and always make sure you and your passengers buckle up. Obey traffic signs and signals, and do not speed.
Get the facts on teenage driving and talk to your children about safe driving. Most parents are aware that automobile accidents are the number one killer of teens, yet few discuss this issue with their teenager. Every year almost 6,000 young lives are lost and another 300,000 teens are injured in motor vehicle accidents. In addition, 16-year-olds have a crash rate 3 times greater than a 17-year-old and 5 times greater than an 18-year-old. We talk to children about smoking, drugs, alcohol, and safe sex, all of which are important, but not about safe driving. I encourage all parents to do so before their child is ready for a permit, and to keep the discussions going especially when they begin to drive on their own.
Just because a teenager has a permit or junior license does not mean that he is ready for every driving condition. I strongly encourage parents to enroll their junior drivers in a DMV-approved driver education course.
New York State has a Graduated Driving Licensing program (“GDL”) which allows beginners to obtain experience under lower risk conditions. The primary causes of teenage car accidents are driving error, speeding, distractions and alcohol, drugs or medication. Risk factors for young drivers increase further when they drive after dark, in bad weather and when they drive with other teenage friends in the car. GDL addresses these risk factors by limiting when a junior driver can drive and with whom.
Your child’s school may wish to participate in Choices and Consequences, a program introduced to high schools by my office, which seeks to educate teens regarding the deadly consequences of reckless and drunk driving. You can read more about that program on my Web site at www.brooklynda.org.
The following Web sites offer safety tips and car crash test results that can assist both parents and their young drivers:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
http:www.nhtsa.gov/; To have your questions answered in a future column, send them to asktheda@brooklynda.org. |
||
| | HOME | ||
__________________________________________Ask
the DA