Parents of teen drivers: Attitudes and dangers

By Tim Hollister and Pam Fischer, co-authors, Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through The Dangers of Driving (Chicago Review Press 2018)

Memorial Day is the start of the 100 most dangerous days on the road for teens. What can you do to help your teen reduce his or her risk? And what are the biggest dangers that you need to help your teen understand and avoid? Think ATC and PACTS.

Treat every time your teen proposes to get behind the wheel as the equivalent of a pilot wanting to fly an airplane and act like an Air Traffic Controller (ATC). Require your teens to compile a “flight plan” and get permission from the tower – you – before taking off. The plan should include what a pilot considers essential, so ask your teen:

• Where exactly are you going? (Pilots don’t estimate – they need precision.)
• What directions will get you there, and is that route safe for an inexperienced driver?
• When are you leaving and returning, and are there safety issues to consider? (e.g., night driving)
• Do you have enough gas, and is your car maintained and safe?
• When and how will you report your arrival and departure or a problem or delay?
• Who will be with you, and how will you ensure that they don’t distract you?
• What’s your alternate route if the intended one is blocked or not available?
• Are you well rested and alert?
• Are you ready to undertake this public safety responsibility?

Only when each of these items has been satisfactorily planned should you clear your teen for departure. Sound like overkill? We respectfully suggest that you consider the dangers of teen driving. The risks of an unprepared pilot flying are not unlike those facing a teen driver. The margin for error is small, and the risks are enormous.

Will this air controller routine feel a bit less necessary when your teen is on her one hundredth “flight”? Yes. Will you need to maintain this level of detail after you and your teen have spent a year in this mode? Probably not. But the likelihood that your teen will get to this later stage is substantially increased if, as she begins to drive, you treat every situation as if she is a pilot preparing to fly a plane.

As for the biggest dangers for teen drivers, what you and your teen should focus on most are P – A – C – T – S:

Passengers: The risk for a teen driver goes up with each teen passenger, including siblings.

Alcohol and Drugs: Zero tolerance for impaired driving.

Curfews: Your teen should be off the road before fatigue sets in.

Texting and Electronic Devices: Zero tolerance for distracting electronics.

Seat Belts: Everyone, every trip, no exceptions.