better
FAMILY
Steer Them
Straight
Car crashes are the leading cause of death
among teenagers. You can help prevent
these tragedies.
TA LK A B O U T REAL
Q U A LITY TIM E:
Research
show s that the m ore teens get
b e h in d the w h e e l w ith M o m or
Dad in the car, the safer they’ll be.
“Parents have a m ore
im portan t ro le to p la y th an any
other influence on teens
le a rn in g to drive,” says A n n e
M cC a rtt, senior vice president
fo r research at the Insurance
In stitu te fo r H ig h w a y Safety.
H e re ’s h o w to p la y that role w ell.
D R IV E , D R IV E , D R IV E
K id s can spend thousands o f
h o u rs on sports b u t o n ly 100
h o u rs (o r less) on d riv e r
training, says A llis o n A ltzm a n o f
the D efensive D riv in g A cadem y
in Valencia, C a lifo rn ia . A s the
keepers o f the keys, parents
m ust balance that out.
L e t them d rive w h e n e ve r you
can, assum ing con d ition s are
safe. U se th is tim e w isely.
M o n ito r speed and speak up
w h e n kids go too fast (th e y’re
often unaw are that th e y’re
speeding). Be attuned to space
m anagem ent— is th ere enough
room betw een cars?
Rem em ber— y o u r jo b in the
passenger seat is an active one.
Ju st m ake sure that yo u make
correctio ns and suggestions
calm ly and in a neutral tone.
S E T L IM IT S Y o u k n o w the
dangers o f te xtin g b e h in d the
w heel, b u t do yo u live b y the
rules? I f yo u ’re ch a ttin g on the
cell phon e w h ile d rivin g ,
y o u r kids are g o in g to
th in k th a t’s O K . I t ’s a
pa ren t’s jo b to set lim its
and re w a rd kids fo r fo llo w -
in g th em — or p u n ish them
w h e n th e y d on’t. T e ll yo u r
teen to keep he r cell phone
h a n d y b u t sw itch e d o ff in
the car.
A lso, law s in m ost states
lim it passengers and
n ig h t-d riv in g fo r teens, b u t
it’s up to yo u to make sure
ru le s are fo llow e d.
T E A C H S E E IN G “T h e best
w a y to teach teens to d rive
is to sh o w them h o w to
re a lly
see
the road,” says
D r. Susan Sm ith
K u czm a rsk i, auth or o f
The Sacred Flight of the
Teenager.
“D riv in g is a
visu a l skill.”
Say out lo u d w h a t yo u
see as yo u drive, and
articulate w h a t yo u do to
d rive safely. T u rn in g left at
a stop sign? Say, “ I ’m
signaling a left tu rn 100
feet before the intersection.
I ’m slo w in g d ow n . I ’m
sto p pin g at the sign and
lo o k in g b o th w ays. I don’t
see any pedestrians— they’d
have the rig h t o f w ay, yo u
know . N o w I ’m tu rn in g .”
A sk y o u r teen to speak
aloud w h a t he sees outside
the car. L is te n closely,
lo o k in g fo r om itted steps
o r sights. D iscuss the
im portance o f scanning
ahead, n o t ju st fo cusin g on
w h a t’s im m ediately in
fro n t o f the car. T h is can
help keep yo u r teen’s
d riv in g re co rd free o f
unnecessary bum ps.
T H E
PROS
KNOW
Don’t let your teen’s
first emergency
maneuver happen
when he’s alone on
the road. A number
of excellent driving
schools offer
advanced techniques
for teens that go
well beyond driver’s
ed. Here are a few
examples:
■ The Bridgestone
W inter Driving
School, Steamboat
Springs, Colorado.
The best cold-
weather driving
instruction around;
w in te rd riv e .c o m
or
800/949-7543
The Bondurant
School of High
Performance Driving
in Phoenix. An
impressive teen
driving course that
teaches life-saving
skills;
b o n d u ran t.co m
or 800/842-7223
■ Street Survival,
held at locations
across the country.
A one-day class
using your own car
to teach teens
advanced skills such
as car handling limits;
stre e tsu rv iv a l.o rg
or
864/329-1919
1 9 6 JULY2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
PHOTO: JUPITER IMAGES
