|   Issues

The other day while driving in the car with my thirteen-year-old son, he said, “Hey mom, I think I know how to drive because I’ve been watching you do it for years.” I did a quick shudder. The thought of him driving, even if he still has a few years to go, makes my stomach flip. To start, he’s always been a risk-taker, often jumping in before he has considered the consequences. And secondly—and this takes some honesty—he has watched his parents push the speed limit a few times. Reading facts about teen driving on the CDC Web site doesn’t calm my nervous stomach one bit: They claim that per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash. It gets worse for mothers of boys: Among male drivers between 15 and 20 years of age who were involved in fatal crashes in 2005, 37 percent were speeding and 26 percent had been drinking alcohol. Shudder!

Despite the scary statistics and the nature of boys (and some girls!), parents can improve the odds that their teen is not involved in an automobile accident. This is done through dedicated, patient teaching and established, hard-and-fast rules, followed by appropriate consequences (as in a parked car for a week).

Be the teacher you always wanted
Teaching your teen to drive can be nerve-wracking. It might remind you of when your child was young and had to break even the simplest tasks into several steps. The same goes for driving: “Understand that just because teens have been riding in a car for 15 years, they don’t know how to drive,” says Stan Vyvial, a seasoned driving instructor with Choice Driver’s Education in Fort Collins. I’ll have to tell that one to my son.

Driving is an accumulative skill. First, we learn simple things like how to turn, stop, start, push the break pedal and regulate the gas. Next, we learn the art of driving—watching traffic, maintaining speed, judging distance, breaking well in advance and following road rules. “Driving has multiple facets. Teens learn individual skills and then have to put them together as a whole. As they gain competence in these skills, they gain confidence,” reflects Vyvial who believes that learning to see the big picture of what is going on around them is the biggest challenge for young drivers.

Where should you start? CDOT recommends beginning with the basics. Go to a large parking lot or a deserted street and practice turning, parking and backing up. Let them get a feel for how much pressure is needed on the break and the gas. When you both feel comfortable, progress to more advanced skills including changing lanes and parallel parking.

The key is to stay calm, even if your hands are aching to grab the wheel. “Parents tend to yell, ‘turn, turn!’ or ‘go, go!’ without realizing that their teen doesn’t know how far to turn or judge when to go,” says Vyvial. He suggests giving ample warning before turns with a lot of details, as in ‘at the next light you will turn left so you will want to merge into the left lane when it is safe.’ “It also helps to give a running commentary as your teen drives. Point out your visual search, what you see and why it could be a threat or what you would do if it became one. Do the same while you are driving,” adds Vyvial. This helps teens to shift their focus from the hood of the car to the bigger picture of what’s around them. Also review road rules and good driving habits like signaling, the two-second rule between cars, turning into the nearest lane, and not switching lanes unnecessarily.

Remember, if you are nervous, your teen will be, too. So be patient and praise what your student does right. “Expect mistakes. New drivers will make errors,” says Vyvial who recommends making sure your teen is ready for a situation before putting them in one. “It is hard for new drivers to anticipate stopping and slowing and understanding how quickly they are moving and how to keep adequate space around their vehicle,” concludes Vyvial.

Finally, our teens will drive like we drive. That means we should be on our best driving behavior, especially while teaching them to drive. It may not erase years of speeding, but it will help. This is when they are watching us the closest.

Rules to drive by
Well before your teen gets a license, sit down and hammer out a solid set of rules—both your own and the state’s. Colorado state law provides a solid foundation for you to set rules and enforce them. Keep in mind that your teen will get a restricted license until she turns 18. CDOT teen driving laws include:

No passengers under age 21 until driver has held a driver’s license for at least six months.

No more than one passenger under age 21 until driver has held a driver’s license for at least one year. (Siblings and passengers with medical emergencies are exceptions.)

All passengers with drivers under 18 must wear seatbelts. This is a primary law.

Only one passenger may ride in the front seat.

No driving between midnight and 5am until your teen has had a driver’s license for at least one year, unless accompanied by an instructor, parent or legal guardian. A few exceptions, such as a medical emergency, exist.

No drinking and driving. Colorado has a zero tolerance law for minor drivers.

No cell phone use or texting while driving for teens. On Dec. 1, 2009 Colorado House Bill 1094 passed, making it illegal for all drivers to text, e-mail or tweet while driving (that means parents, too!) It went one step further and banned cell phones for drivers under 18. With the new law, texting is a secondary offense, meaning police can only give a citation for texting if they pull the driver over for another violation first. The law carries a $50 fine for texting and more for repeat offenders.

Besides relying on state laws, set some family rules, options include:

Setting your own curfew, especially in the first year. Most accidents happen between 9pm and midnight, according to CDOT. The CDC reports that 56 percent of teen accidents occur on the weekend.
Extending the rule of no passengers or limiting the number of passengers to one for the first year or two. CDOT reports that carrying just one passenger increases the crash risk by about 50 percent for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Creating a written contract with your teen, one that grants more driving privileges as your teen continues to follow rules and gain experience behind the wheel.

Requiring that cell phones be turned off and left in the back seat or trunk. Setting strict you-use-it, you-lose-it consequences around texting of calling. No doubt, your teen will be tempted. According to a 2007 Colorado State Patrol survey of 460 Colorado teens found that 51percent sent and received text messages while driving and 66 percent talked on the phone.

Prohibiting eating and drinking or adjusting the radio/CD player while driving.

Prohibiting driving when your teen is tired or over emotional.

Banning horseplay—explore situations your teen might find himself in, as in a dare to race a light or drag race the car next to him, and discuss his options.

Calling for a ride after a party, if your teen is concerned about the driver’s sobriety. Let your teen know they can call you at any time, even if they break curfew, for a safe ride home.

Your reward for such conscientious parenting? According to CDOT, teens with strong family rules have fewer crashes. Now that’s something that calms my jumpy tummy!

This article was sponsored by Poudre Valley Health Systems.

---

Permits and driver’s education

Before getting a license, Colorado requires that teens acquire a permit and log 50 hours behind the wheel with either a parent or a licensed driving instructor.

Fifteen-year-olds can get a permit by completing a driver’s education course through a licensed company or waiting until 15-and-a-half and completing four hours of driver awareness training.

Sixteen-year-olds can apply with no requirements.

Driver’s education courses, such as the one offered by Vyvial through Choice Driver’s Education (chodrieduc@comcast.net), typically run between $370 and $385 in northern Colorado. The courses provide 30 hours of classroom theory and six hours of driving, plus the ease of mind that an expert is giving your teen a solid driving foundation.