A Family Guide to Teen Driver Safety, Call 800.621.7619 Or Your Local National Safety Council Chapter Or Go To
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Sincerely,Siincerely, JaJanetanet FFroetscherroetscher PrPresidentresident & CEO NNationalational SSafetyafety CouncilCounci 14337_NSC 090867p1_35.qxp:NSC Master set-up 9/23/09 10:50 AM Page 1 CONTENTS THE NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL’S FAMILY GUIDE TO TEEN DRIVER SAFETY Our Purpose ........................................2 Quick Start .........................................6 8 SECTION 1 Manage Your Teen Driver’s Experience From Beginner to Independent Driver. 12 SECTION 2 The Learning Phase “A Supervised Apprentice” Learning to drive; getting a permit; mastering the skills; and practice, practice, practice. 2.1 The Permit Process . 14 2.2 The Role of Driver Education . 16 2.3 Learning to Drive and Supervised Practice . 19 24 SECTION 3 The Provisional Phase “A Trusted Intermediate” Understand the risks of being a novice teenage driver. 3.1 A Passenger Restriction . 27 3.2 A Nighttime Restriction. 32 36 SECTION 4 Risks from Choices We Make: Unsafe Driving Behaviors Understand the risks of choosing to drive unsafely. Seat Belts – Every Trip, Every Occupant, Every Time . 39 No Alcohol or Drugs . 41 No Speeding . 42 Don’t Drive Distracted . 43 Stay Alert – A Caution about Drowsy Driving. 44 Stay Cool – No Reckless Driving . 45 46 SECTION 5 Promoting Compliance with Privileges and Consequences Your family’s management of your teen’s driving experience. 5.1 Setting Expectations – The Parent/Teen Agreement . 49 5.2 The Effect of Your State Law . 55 5.3 Advice from a Cop: Enforcing Teen Driver Safety . 57 5.4 Insurance Rates: Another Cost of Crashes . 60 Resources and References . 64 Supervised Driving Log . 65 Driving Skills Checklist. 66 The National Safety Council’s Family Guide to Teen Driver Safety 1 14337_NSC 090867p1_35.qxp:NSC Master set-up 9/23/09 10:50 AM Page 2 OURPURPOSE NATURALLY, THE FIRST ADVISORS WE WENT TO WERE THE SCIENTISTS and highway safety research experts who presented their research findings at our Symposiums. We then expanded our advisor group to include experts in each of the areas addressed in the Guide. We consulted with law enforcement officers, Driver Education instructors, people who design and build cars, public safety officials, and professionals in the insurance industry. Each added his or her insights to particular passages in the Guide — some are quoted directly, while others helped shape the overall message to families. 2 The National Safety Council’s Family Guide to Teen Driver Safety 14337_NSC 090867p1_35.qxp:NSC Master set-up 9/23/09 10:50 AM Page 3 lifetime. However, there are ways to reduce the THIS GUIDE IS THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP risk. We can turn our concerns into concrete steps to protect the teen driver, and that’s what for the research findings from the National Safety Council’s GDL this Guide is intended to help you do. Symposiums. The Guide takes 15 years of scientific data and translates THIS GUIDE IS GROUNDED IN SCIENCE it into practical information for parents and teens to use in reducing Scientific evidence is the foundation for all the recommendations, charts and advice in teen crash risk. this Guide. The information provided is based on the latest research and evidence used by the highway safety community. It comes from tried-and-true practices for teaching teens to drive and the newest hether you’re a parent who Our overall objective is to provide our approaches to structuring teen driving is anxiously anticipating your readers with helpful information and advice privileges currently being incorporated into teen’s novice driving about teen driving based on the most updated traffic laws around the world. W experience, a family looking evidence available to us. We want to share with The scientific facts do two important for guidance during the minimum two-year families the proven methods that help diminish things for us. First, they dispel the myth that process a new driver goes through, or a teen the serious dangers teens face in the first only “troubled” or “daredevil” teens are in unfamiliar with the surprisingly high risks that months and 1,000 miles after they begin to drive. danger of crashing. In fact, all teens are in teenagers face behind the wheel, this Family danger, simply because of their youth and Guide is intended to be helpful to everyone KNOW YOUR RISKS lack of driving experience. Second, the involved. Our purpose is to take any anxiety How risky is novice teen driving? Is there scientific facts show us which methods and uncertainties you may feel and replace anything that can be done to reduce risks? actually help reduce driving risks for all them with specific actions you can take to Families know driving involves risk, but they novice teen drivers. manage the risks of teen driving in your family. often don’t know how much or how best to In addition, we have three specific goals react to it. Some parents may think, “We all PRACTICAL ADVICE for this Guide: made it through okay,” but many others rightly FROM EXPERTS ■ Inform family members about the wonder, “Are there new ways to reduce the The second goal of this Guide is to provide risks of teen driving based on solid, risks teenage drivers face behind the wheel?” practical, how-to advice on ways families can scientific evidence, The first goal of this Guide is to provide reduce teen driving risks. Parents have to be ■ Provide practical advice about ways a realistic picture of the risks of teen driving. actively involved in the teen driving process. to reduce that risk, also based on Family members should be anxious about Equipped with the scientific evidence and solid, scientific evidence, and teen driving, because driving comes with specific suggestions from our advisors, ■ Encourage parent-teen cooperation substantially higher risks for novice teenage parents can make a real impact on the odds and involvement throughout the entire drivers than it does for adult drivers. In fact, that their teen drivers will come home safely. process from learning to drive through driving may represent the highest exposure The design, content, and writing of the independent driving. to risk that most teenagers will face in their Guide were based on consultation with a The National Safety Council’s Family Guide to Teen Driver Safety 3 14337_NSC 090867p1_35.qxp:NSC Master set-up 9/23/09 10:50 AM Page 4 OUR PURPOSE wide