Teens are more likely to get into a car accident than any other age range of the driving population, and this is due to a number of factors. First and foremost, teens lack experience, and while they may feel confident behind the wheel, they haven’t worked on their driving skills for very long yet. Second, teens can be impulsive or distracted, not realizing the danger they are actually in when they take their eyes from the road or break driving laws.
According to the CDC, the risk of being in a motor vehicle accident is higher in the 16-19-year-old age bracket than any other, and in the year 2013, 6 teens died in motor vehicle accidents every day. Teen males are also more at risk of dying in a motor vehicle crash than females, two to one, and teen drivers, in general, are 3 times more likely to be involved in a crash than any person over the age of 20.
Teen Accident Statistics And Distracted Driving
In today’s smartphone age, distracted driving has become an even bigger problem for teens. According to Edgar Snyder, 32.8% of high school students admitted to having texted or sent an email while driving, and 12% of all distracted drivers in fatal accidents in 2013 were teens. The 16-19 age range is a small one, just 3 years, and drivers falling within this 3 year age range were responsible for 12% of all distracted driving-related deaths across all demographics.
Not only does distracted driving put teens at risk, but it also puts other drivers at risk. If the accident caused by being distracted by a smartphone, radio, passengers, or anything involves another car, others on the road are being placed in a hazardous situation. The teen driver isn’t paying attention to the road, or their full attention, and they don’t have much experience with driving in general, so they’re creating double the risk.
Online drivers ed covers road dangers like distracted driving, as well as strategies and techniques to use in order to safely avoid hazardous drivers on the road. Your teen can gain an understanding of the very real dangers of distracted driving, as well as a respect for making sure they’re driving safely each time they get on the road. Parents are given peace of mind, and they can rest assured that their teen has been made well aware of what they should be doing when they take the wheel.
Safer Teen Driving And Drivers Ed
Now, we know that these are some scary statistics, and they’re only the tip of the iceberg. So, what can you do to keep your teen safe on the road? You have a really solid solution in online drivers education. According to the DMV, teens who take drivers education courses are significantly less likely to be the cause of a crash while driving compared to teens who have not taken courses, which can make you, as the parent, feel more at ease with your teen’s safety habits while on the road.
Online drivers education gives your teen a way to be safer while driving and also fit drivers education into their schedule. Today’s teenagers are busy, there’s no question there, but online drivers education can be taken on their own time and at their own pace. Teens are expected to simply log in when they’re ready to continue on with their courses, then log out when they’re finished, and this can be repeated again and again until your teen has finished their drivers ed program. If they have a few minutes one day, and a couple of hours the next, they can use any allotted amount of time they wish to dedicating to their drivers ed.
Finding That Perfect Drivers Ed Program
Finding the perfect drivers ed program for your teen will make the most of their experience. Unfortunately, there are some drivers ed programs out there that aren’t quite legitimate or might be out to scam you out of your hard earned cash. A few of our tried and tested favorites in the department of online drivers ed are Aceable, iDriveSafely, DriversEd.com, and Improv Traffic School, but you can research your own as well.
If you do choose to research your own online drivers ed program, there are a few steps you should take to ensure you’re choosing the right one. First and foremost, take a look at the available reviews and testimonials from previous students, and make sure that you’re getting a good window into the experience your teen is like to have. Next, make sure to look at the company’s online reputation to ensure they are in good standing with their former program participants, and they’re an online drivers ed company that can be relied upon.
Price shopping and comparisons can also be done online, and this can be really convenient for you. Rather than waiting until business hours to make phone calls and shop around physically, you can compare and contrast prices on your own time, and you can have each program open side-by-side for the easiest comparisons. It’s important to look for online drivers ed programs that fall right into the price average, as an online drivers ed that is too inexpensive may be pointing to illegitimacy, while one that is too expensive could cause you to waste money unnecessarily.
If you want to keep your teens safe on the road, and help them from becoming a statistic, drivers education is the way to go. Including lessons on safety, technique, and safe driving strategies, you’re preparing your teen fully for when they go out for real road experience. With an online option, you can still reap all the benefits and the rewards of taking drivers ed courses, and you won’t have to disturb yours or their already busy schedule!
Parents’ Role in Preventing Teens From Getting in a Car Accident
There is a good reason why some states take a parent’s role in providing driver’s education to their teen drivers – they’re their role models. No matter what kind of parent-child relationship they share, parents have profound effects on how their teens develop their values, including how they take safe driving precautions seriously.
So as parents, your biggest role in preventing your teen from being involved in an accident is to ensure that they learn good examples from you. Again, you’re supposed to be the role model here.
You also have to ensure that they are prepared to be on the road. It’s a given that they have to pass the necessary tests and training to get their permits, but no one can properly make them feel more confident about driving on the road than their parents. A simple acknowledgment of their driving skills can mean a lot to them.
Being there for them whenever they need some time to practice is something you can also do for them. And while you have the time, you can try and expose your teen to different driving conditions. For example, driving in the rain or when the road is filled with snow.
Some studies show that one of the reasons why teens are more prone to accidents is their lack of experience driving in different road conditions. So if you manage to help them gain that experience, they’ll at least have an idea how it feels like. You can offer them tips based on your own driving experience, too. So the next time they have to face this driving situation, they already have an idea of what to expect.
What’s more, you may give them some tips on who they should contact first in case an accident happens. Most teen drivers, or even adult drivers, will panic after getting into one, but knowing how to reach the responders to seek immediate medical attention will somehow ease their concern.