Research Reveals Parental Involvement Reduces Risk of Death for Teen Drivers

Summer is the time of year when teens are out of school and enjoying themselves for a few months. Many of them remain busy with summer jobs, but any of us who are older than 19 likely remember our summers as times spent having fun with our friends. While so many things have changed with regards to our culture over the past couple of generations, that norm remains the same, and it tends to mean that more teens are out driving on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily a good thing.

There are countless studies out there that show that teen fatalities rise significantly because of car accidents between the months of May and September, and we are now heading into the meat of the summer vacation in terms of the academic year. That fact alone has likely led many parents to lose some sleep, and for good reason, as car accidents overall tend to spike during the summer months as well regardless of the age of the drivers involved.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has taken notice of the turning calendar as well and has published articles that basically warn of the dangers that teens will encounter during the coming months. The entity has also revealed that parents who are involved with the driving habits of their teen children tend to stand a better chance of avoiding that phone call that no Mom or Dad ever wants to receive in the middle of the night.

The NAIC has also put out a list of recommendations for parents regarding how they should be involved with the driving of their children who are of this age. Examples of these recommendations and supporting facts and statistics include:

• Discussing rules that will apply to your teen’s driving at all times
• Printing out those rules so that your child has a copy of them whenever he or she drives
• Sticking to the rules as a parent and reducing or removing driving privileges if they are violated
• Checking up on your teen driver to make sure that he or she is adhering to your standards

If these rules are put into place and if these agreements are followed, chances are that teens will face a lower risk of being involved in a fatal car accident.

However, teens that do not follow basic driving rules can also face the risk of causing a car accident that seriously injures or kills someone else. If this occurs, then parents of that teen driver can face serious consequences as well by way of potential legal liability. Therefore, the California accident lawyers at the Demas Law Group, P.C., would like to encourage all parents of teen drivers to take some time to lay out basic rules and expectations regarding their driving privileges this summer. Doing so could make all the difference and it will almost certainly provide you with the opportunity to sleep easier as the summer moves along.