Potential Magazine Fall 2015 - Alabama Edition | Page 18

happy + healthy

driving 101

BEHIND

WHEEL

Learn what you should be telling—and showing—your teen
before they ever start to drive and when they’re just beginning.

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When a teen starts to drive, it’s a thrilling time for him or her, but often a
terrifying time for mom and dad – and with good reason. Nearly half a million
teens are injured in crashes on American roadways every year and 3,800 die.
Many factors contribute to teen driver crashes. They include driving while
using alcohol or drugs and not wearing seat belts.
Kathy Monroe is the medical director of the emergency department at
Children’s of Alabama. Unfortunately she sees first-hand the consequences of
teens practicing unsafe behaviors behind the wheel of a car.
“Teen crashes are often caused by poor decisions like not wearing a seatbelt,
speeding, or drinking and driving,” she said. “Often crashes happen due to
nothing more than inexperience—they run off the edge of the road, or they
over correct, that leads them to crash into another car.
Often distractions contribute to a crash. These may take the driver’s eyes, ears
and attention away from the road.
The good news: studies show that parents can play an important role in
encouraging the safety of their teen behind the wheel.
“There’s very good evidence that 1,000 miles of supervised driving with an
experienced driver dramatically decreases crash rates for teen drivers,” said
Monroe.

ENSURE YOUR INSURANCE IS RIGHT
“ With the amount of youthful drivers on the road, and the

higher likelihood that they will be involved in an accident,
parents really need to take a look at where their bodily injury
liability limits are set. There are far too many drivers on the
road with the state minimum requirements for bodily injury
liability, and it’s actually the cheapest part of the policy to
increase. Remember that once these limits are exhausted,
your insurance company stops writing checks and you start!”
— Jason McLeod, Alfa Insurance Agent

Article provided by Children’s Hospital of Alabama.
Find more information on the Graduated Driver License Law and
other safety tips and downloads for teens and parents, including a
sample contract, at childrensal.org/safe-teen-driving-toolkit.

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One approach that’s been very successful
in reducing teen driving accidents is the
Alabama Graduated Driver License Law.
The Graduated Driver License applies to
16-year-olds (and 17-year-olds licensed
for less than six months) and contains
three components:

1. Curfew: 12 a.m. - 6 a.m.
2. Limit of passengers: Besides
family members, only one passenger
under the age of 21 allowed (so no
double dates!)

3. No handheld devices
Consider creating a
contract that spells out
driving rules you expect
your teen to follow.
Have your teen sign
it. Make sure they
understand that there
will be repercussions
if they break the
contract.