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Driving can be dangerous and overwhelming for some teens, while being easy and freeing for others. No matter how your teen takes to driving, you need to make sure that you are teaching them the safety tips so that they can stay safe on the road.
Here are some of the best tips your teen needs to know before they get behind the wheel alone.
1. Show Them How To Map Their Route
This might not seem like a safety tip, but it is no less effective at getting your teens both out of danger and out of a jam. While map apps are very plentiful and will work 9 out of 10 times, you still need to teach them how to map their route.
This can range from helping your teens find landmarks, to helping them learn how to orient themselves on the road, to teaching them to find rest stops and gas stations.
For your teen, especially whenever they start to take very long road trips, being able to know where they are and where they are going is going to help keep them safe.
2. Show Them How To Handle Traffic
It can be very easy to drive whenever the roads are straight and there is no one around for miles in either direction. However, driving in bumper to bumper traffic or driving where there is a lot on the road to keep track of is a different situation.
Start your teen out on areas of the road and times of day when no one is around, and slowly move them up to driving during periods of high traffic.
For your teen, learning to drive in various traffic conditions is going to help them better manage their emotions and their reaction time on the road.
3. Tell Them How To Handle Other Drivers
Finally, you need to tell them how to handle other drivers, especially because most people are poor drivers, distracted drivers, or some combination of both. At some point, a driver is going to cut in front of them or cause some other problem, and your teen needs to be able to handle the situation and also react safely so a car accident isn’t caused due to panicking and making fear-driven mistakes.
What if Your Teen is Injured in a Car Accident That Wasn’t Their Fault?
While you try your best to teach your teen everything they should know about driving safely on the road, and you pray that the day never comes, sometimes your teen might get injured in a car accident that wasn’t their fault.
Once you make sure that they are okay, you need to get in contact with a car accident lawyer so they can get you the maximum compensation available for your claim.
If your teenager has medical expenses, car repairs, or has lost wages due to their injuries in the car accident, a car accident lawyer is going to be able to help them and ensure that they are fairly represented in a settlement. Or failing that, in court if that becomes a problem that can’t be solved in the settlement negotiations.
Keeping Your Teen Safe While Driving
Don’t be afraid to spend time with your teen to make sure they are 100% confident in driving, and make sure to take the time to answer any and all questions they have. The information and the advice you give as a parent might just be the thing that saves your teenager’s life and that also keeps them on the road as a responsible driver!