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If you're like most parents, the day your teen takes the wheel ranks up there as one of the most dreaded parental milestones, and with good reason.
A new study of more than 500 teenagers found that new young drivers take risks on the road. But don't secretly let the air out of your teen's tires just yet: the same study revealed that parents can help reduce risky driving behavior.
The study, conducted by University of Maryland professor Kenneth Beck, found that teen drivers who have had their driver's licenses less than a month reported a noticeable amount of risky driving behavior. "But we found that when parents and teenagers agree on driving conditions and consequences for unsafe driving, there is less risky behavior," says Beck, an expert in driving safety. "When there was discord between parents, the teens were more likely to be risky drivers."
Beck says to reduce risky driving behavior, parents and teens should agree on basic driving conditions, such as driving without teen passengers, driving outside of the local area and having teens tell parents where they are going.
"Parents and teenagers also need to agree on the consequences for risky driving," says Beck. "Both need to know and agree as to when driving privileges would be taken away or reduced. The best way to do that is talk about it."
In asking the new teen drivers about their risky driving behavior, Beck found that:
- Boys are more likely than girls to be risky drivers;
- Mothers are better than fathers in getting teenagers to avoid risky driving.
The most common risky driving behaviors reported were:
- Going through a yellow light – 83%
- Speeding in residential or school zones – 50%
- Talking on a cell phone, reading, eating or horsing around
with passengers – 48%
- Switching lanes and weaving though slower traffic – 46%
Beck interviewed 579 families in Gaithersburg, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., who had a teenager who had received a driver's license in the previous 30 days.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and injury among teenagers between 16 and 20. Adolescents have the highest crash rate of all age groups, and their accident rates are higher when they drive on weekends, with teen passengers and at night, according to federal studies cited by Beck.
Do you have any tips for keeping teens safe behind the wheel? Let us know — we'd love to hear from you!
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