National Safety Council reports thathalfofall teen drivers will be involved in a car crash before graduating from high school. Listening to these helpful tips andutilizing available technology can help you keep your teen driversafer. Advice For Teens A safer driving experience can be achieved with deliberate steps like wearing yourseat belt, putting your phonein your glove compartment, and obeying the speedlimit. Driving at slower speeds will be especially helpful when driving in unfamiliar or difficult-to-navigate areas. Plan ahead! Knowing howto get to your destination ahead of time and how longit will take to get there will provide for a less stressfultrip. Focusing on the road and not the passengers in the car can also help you reduce risk while driving—and perhaps the most important, if not the most obvious piece ofadvice, is to never drink and drive. Drinking and drivingis illegal and impairs judgmentandreaction time. Advice For Parents Being the parent of a new teen driver can bestressful andit’s a task parents must be vigilant about. Keeping a few tips in mind when preparing teens for driving can help you ready them for the responsibilities of the road. Understand and educate your teen about the laws your state has for the types and numberofpassengers allowed in yourteens’ car and the times they are allowed to be driving. After this time is passed, only allow yourteensto increase the amount of passengers and times they drive if you feel they are ready. Be a good example—makesure that you observe the rules of the road while driving to demonstrate the importance of safety. By occasionally riding with your teen, you can observetheir driving skills to make sure they understand andarefollowingall laws and safety precautions. A new connected car device enables parents to have more-informed conversations with teens about their driving habits. Tim Hollister, a Teen Safe Driving Advocate and author of “Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving,” advises parents to approach their teens’ driving as if they wereair traffic control and their teen were flying an airplane. “Every time your teen gets behind the wheel,” Hollister encourages, “go through a safety checklist, have a flight plan, and use monitoring technology to makesure thatflight plan is being adheredto.” New technology, such as Hum by Verizon, allows parents to receive the type of information neededto help their teens drive safely. For example, parents can receive alerts if their teen drives outside a boundary they set or over the speed they select. Hum also offers pinpoint vehicle location, safety scores and crash detection so that emergency help is close at hand. Whenit comesto your family’s safety while driving, you can never have too much information. Utilize these tips and technologiesto help encourage safe driving every time your teen gets behind the wheel. Learn More You can purchase the Hum device and learn more by visiting a Verizon Wirelessretail store or www.hum.com.
