Special Report: The Dangers of Teen Driving (page 4 of 5)

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PHOTOGRAPHED BY KEVIN IRBY
More than 5,000 teenagers die in car accidents every year.
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SOURCE: NHTSA (2006)
DANGER AFTER DARK: Nearly half of teen crash deaths happen at night.
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SOURCE: IIHS
Crashes per million miles driven in 2006

16: A RISKY AGE
The crash rate for 16-year-olds is nearly double the rate for 19-year-olds.
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3. GET TOUGH AT HOME
Even if your state has weak laws, you can still set the rules for your own teen. “You're the parent,” says AAA's McNaull. “You control when your child gets licensed, you control the keys, and you control the car. You can put significant conditions in place.”

Start by making sure your teen always wears a seat belt. “It's the single most effective safety device in your car,” says Nason. But more than half of teen drivers killed on the road in 2006 weren't buckled up.

You can also lay down your own phase-in law. Set your teen's night driving limit to no later than 10 p.m., don't allow more than one passenger, and ban cell phones-even with a headset. “Using a phone with a headset is of no benefit to an inexperienced driver,” says University of Utah researcher David Strayer.

If your teen balks? Too bad, says Arthur Kellermann, MD, an emergency room physician who's also an injury-prevention researcher at Emory University and the father of a 20-year-old. “This is tough love,” he says.

Nicole Nason agrees: “Every time you say, 'You don't start this car without a seat belt on, you can't drive late at night, this is not the party mobile,' you are saving your children's lives.”

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my problem with tough teen driving laws is how come there are plenty of laws for "protecting teens" but few tought laws for adults? After all, I come from a small town in Oklahoma and I have rarely seen teens drive badly at our local Walmart but have seen plenty of moronic adults drive like maniancs and yet it seems like teens are the only bad drivers in the world. Also I have a big issue with the phrase "teens aren't automatically good drivers at age 16" because they also aren't bad either.

By dabomb62, on 04/20/2009
I lost my 16 year old daughter in a car accident in 2002. She had her license 3 months. She was speeding and not wearing her seatbelt. We were diligent parents, we wore our seatbelts, went the speed limits, talked about how important it was. We didn't know she didn't wear her seatbelt or drove fast when we weren't in the car. We couldn't be with her 24 hours a day. We need tougher laws for teen drivers. Losing a child is the worst, you never get over it. www.mylittlehoneybee.org

By slwendt, on 09/13/2008
I lost my 16 year old daughter in a car accident in 2002. She had her license 3 months. She was speeding and not wearing her seat belt. I was a diligent parent. We wore our seat belts, went the speed limits, talked about it. But I didn't see her out driving without me in the car to know that she liked to speed and not wear her seat belt. It is impossible for a parent to be with their child 24 hours a day. Because of that, we need tougher laws on teen driving. My heart will forever be broken.

By slwendt, on 09/13/2008
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