Teen Driving Tips For the Most Accident-Prone Season

To make driving safer this summer, nothing can take the place of experience behind the wheel. However, teen driving risks can be dramatically reduced by taking the right precautions and using a few simple techniques, say driving experts at Tire Rack Street Survival®, a national non-profit teen driving program. History has shown that as teens trade textbooks for car keys in May and June, the number of fatal crashes will skyrocket to an average of 13 teen deaths a day, marking the beginning of the 100 deadliest days of the year for teen drivers.

“Few people realize driving is one of the most dangerous things they do on a daily basis,” said Bill Wade, National Program Manager of Tire Rack Street Survival®.  “A car traveling at just four mph has more energy than a bullet.  That’s a lot of responsibility,” he added.  Wade offers the following suggestions for parents and teens to have a safer summer behind the wheel:

•       Remind your teen to look 10 seconds down the road at all times when driving, so they will learn to focus on the best escape route when confronted with an obstacle.

 

•       Teach your teen to keep their hands off of the center of the steering wheel and their feet off of the dashboard.  In the event of an accident an airbag deployment with the hands or feet in this position can cause serious bodily harm.

 

•       Complete a quick vehicle maintenance check with your teen every month to ensure everything is working properly.  Are the tires inflated correctly?  For correct tire inflation specs and for more tire-related information go to www.tirerack.com.

 

(Source: Tire Rack Street Survival)

 

For more on teen driving, check out RTM's Teens & Tots Section.