Tips for Teenage Drivers

Distractions, such as the use of cell phones, are a growing problem behind the wheel.

In the United States, car accidents are the leading cause of death. In fact last year, there were 27 teens who died with over 1,000 injured on Montana roads alone. Now it is a priority for Montana officials to keep its teen drivers safe.

Denise Harris with Triple-A says that they are handing out safety materials to parents of teen drivers, as part of the National Teen Driver Safety Week. She said, “It’s important for parents to be involved in order to increase the awareness of driver safety and so there are less teen deaths on the road.”

According to Triple-A, distractions on the road are indeed the major cause of teen car accidents. Harris even said that parents could be of help through reminding teens not to make use of cell phones (either by talking or text messaging), or drive friends while driving.

Harris said, “Practice may not make perfect, but it’s important to be out there on the road with your teen, and be a positive influence.”

Inexperience was also seen as another threat for teens. A recent research conducted by Triple-A revealed that teens were not able to develop the ability to recognize hazards and anticipate accidents on the road. Thus, Triple-A began encouraging parents to sign a contract with their teen outlining when, where, and how teens should be driving. They even made a list of things parents can do to help keep their teens safe. That includes understanding their teen’s driving expectations, choosing a quality driving school and making sure their teen gets enough sleep the night before driving.

The effort has been more like a reminder, since the cause of the accidents has long been prevalent. Parents and teen drivers alike should be made more aware of the dangers of distracted drivers to prevent this problem from further escalating.