JENKINTOWN PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS

Learning to drive is a rite of passage that parents often dread and teenagers eagerly anticipate.  For parents, it is difficult to ensure they are properly prepared.  It is important for parents to express the weight and responsibility involved with driving without taking away the excitement and meaning behind the momentous occasion for teens.

The Philadelphia auto accident attorneys at Mednick, Mezyk & Kredo want to equip parents with the resources and skills to help their teens adequately prepare for what lies ahead on the road. Teaching them to make responsible choices and to be defensive drivers will keep them—and other motorists—safer.

Preparing Yourself and Your Teen

Begin the dialog about safe driving with your children as they enter into their teen years.  According to AAA, a child’s risk of being injured or killed in an auto accident begins to increase at age 12.  It is not too early to start talking with your child about safe driving practices and placing the importance on paying attention to their surroundings.  Preparing your child for safe driving also starts with good role modeling.  Give them a blueprint to follow with good driving habits like wearing your seat belt at all times (and ensuring they do too!), limit your distractions while driving, and obey traffic laws such as speed limit and safe driving distance between cars.  Your positive examples will set the expectations for your child for years to come.

Limiting Distractions

Limit distractions available to your teen while driving by creating healthy driving habits such as:

• No phone use while driving
• No eating while behind the wheel
• Enforce driving curfews that limit driving when extremely tired
• Adjust mirrors and seat before starting to drive

By stressing the dangers of distracted driving to your teen (and repeating them), your teen will learn that distracted driving is not acceptable and puts them and others in danger.  Enforce punishments when necessary, like taking driving privileges away, should your teen break any of your agreed-to rules.

Trust

It is important to note that the most important part of preparing teens to drive is to develop a trust between you and your new driver.  As you set the tone for responsible driving, your teen will understand the importance of upholding safe driving principles.

While parents do their absolute best to prepare their teens for what may come, it is impossible to prepare for the thousands of careless drivers in Philadelphia.  The Philadelphia motor vehicle accident attorneys at Mednick, Mezyk & Kredo, P.C., have decades of experience with teen drivers.  If your teen has experienced an accident as a result of another careless driver, call our offices at 888-807-WORK (9675) for a free case evaluation.