Christmas, birthdays, and graduations are common occasions for teens to receive their first cars. However, a teen driver that has access to a vehicle 24/7 are on the road much more compared to teen drivers who borrow their parents’ vehicles.

If your teenager is receiving a car for Christmas, you should evaluate your child’s readiness to have unlimited access to a vehicle. Does your teen driver have the necessary driving experience to handle all situations that might arise on the road? Are you prepared to set comprehensive rules for your teen driver and enforce those rules? If not, you may want to consider a safe driving course for your teenager in addition to riding with your teenager more often to judge his or her driving behaviors.

Guides to Teen Driver Safety

Several organizations provide safety tips and guides for teen driver safety. AAA’s Keys2Drive provides resources and information that can help your teen driver become a responsible, safe driver.  The National Safety Council and NHTSA also have information that can help ensure your child understands safe driving habits.

Examples of Rules for Teen Drivers That Can Avoid Accidents

Some of the rules that you may want to consider for your teenage driver include:

• Limiting the number of passengers in the vehicle when an adult is not present.
• An app that blocks texts and phone calls when the vehicle is in operation.
• A device or app that tracks your teen driver’s behaviors behind the wheel, such as speed and braking.
• Absolutely no alcohol at all.
• Everyone must wear a seatbelt at all times.
• Limited driving area, including no driving on the interstate.
• Limit night driving and driving during poor weather conditions until you can ride with your child to ensure he or she has sufficient experience driving under these conditions.
• Absolutely no speeding.

The above “rules” are examples of restrictions you may want to impose depending on the level of experience your child has behind the wheel. Depending on your situation, you may have other driving rules that your teen must keep. Failure to abide by the house rules for the vehicle results in the loss of driving privileges.

Teach Your Teen Driver What To Do After a Car Accident

You hope that your teenage driver is never involved in a car accident. However, you need to educate your teen driver about what to do if you are in an automobile accident. You may want to roleplay with your teen drive until you are sure that your teenager knows how to handle a car accident.

Call an Indianapolis Teen Driver Accident Attorney for a Free Case Review

If your teen driver is involved in a car accident, you need an experienced Indianapolis teen driver accident attorney as soon as possible. Many insurance companies automatically blame the teen driver, even if the teen driver is not at fault for the crash. The PBAR legal team fight for the rights of your teenager.

Visit our contact page to request a free case review or call Poynter & Bucheri at 1-800-265-9881 or (317) 780-8000 to speak with an Indianapolis teen driver accident attorney.