One of the most dangerous years in a person’s life is the first 12 months after getting a driver’s license. Annually, there are about two million teens under the age of 18 in their first year of driving on U.S. roads, the National Safety Council (NSC) reports.
About The Drive it Home Program
To educate parents on driving risks, the Allstate Foundation is helping National Safety Council launch Drive It Home, a new program offering specially created resources to help parents keep their teens safer on the road, especially after a teen gets a driver’s license. Designed by parents for parents, the unique program includes an interactive website – driveithome.org – featuring engaging videos, practice tips and other valuable resources.
The Drive it Home Show
As part of Drive it Home program, the Drive It Home Show is hitting the road, stopping in 14 cities across the country giving parents a fun look at the serious subject of teen driving.
On April 26th I attended the Drive It Home Event “in Fort Myers, Florida presented at the Alliance for the Arts. The show featured comedians from the renowned Second City Communications who put together a skit that gave parents a fun look at the serious subject of teen driving.
I think that the idea to pair up comedy and information was pure genius. The information was easy to understand, easy to digest and hard to forget because it was presented in a funny way. The show was truly hilarious while it tackled serious subjects, presented grave statistics and gave parents tips, advice and tools to help reduce the risks of teen driving. The information presented helps parents understand the real hazards teens face on the road and better coach teen drivers. During the event safety experts and local AllState agents shared information about Florida driving laws and about specific driving risks in our community. We also heard from a mom who lost her teen to a car accident, which really brought us back to reality and highlighted the importance of all the information that was being presented and specially drove home the fact that as parents we need to be aware of what the risks are four our teens when driving to be able to reduce them.
What Parents Can Do To Reduce Teen Driving Risks
• Car crashes are the number one cause of teen deaths. Get informed.
• The number one cause of accidents among teen drivers is inexperience. Parents need to spend at least 50 hours practicing driving with your teen before they get their license.
• After they get their license parents need to continue teaching their children to drive safely. Spend at least 30 minutes per week in the car with your teen during the first 6 months after they get their license.
• Many parents think that driving while texting, drinking and driving and speeding are the greatest risks for teen drivers and although teen drivers do engage in these dangerous driving behaviors most accidents are caused by inexperience. So practice, practice, practice driving with your teen!
• When driving with your teen practice scanning the road ahead to recognize and respond to hazards.
• Practice managing speed depending on the situation and maintaining the appropriate distance with other cars in different situations.
• Practice driving to the places your teen will be driving to at the times your teen will be driving. For example practice driving to school in rush hour not during the weekend!
• One of the biggest risks for teen drivers is driving at night. Practice driving in the dark with your teen for at least 10 hours before you let him drive at night by himself.
• Passengers are the number one distractor for kids, even more than cell phones. Do not let teens drive with anyone in the car for the first 6 months.
• The car you give your teen may increase the risk of accidents. Do not give teens a high performance car that they will want to speed in. Try to stay away from older models because safety features have improved a lot and you want a safe car. Smaller cars are also more dangerous once you get into an accident.
• Half of teen drivers will have an accident before the age of 18.
• Teach kids by example when teaching them to drive.
What Florida Parents Need to Know About Teen Driving
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 761 fatalities in crashes involving at least one 15- to 19-year-old motor vehicle driver in Florida from 2009-11.
AllState Foundation conducted a survey and I would like to share some of the findings with you:
Research showed that parents don’t understand the most deadly risks to their teens’ safety.
- 51% of Florida parents do not realize that the number one killer of teenagers is automobile accidents!
- Parents believe that risk-taking is the primary cause of crashes, when inexperience is the real issue. Only 16% of Florida parents say a teen’s lack of driving experience is the top cause of crashes. The national average is 18%.
- Nearly 38% of parents in Florida are not covering how to manage the deadly risks – such as nighttime driving and driving with young passengers – with their teens. Oddly enough, parents and teens agree that they should have spent more time practicing in dangerous conditions, according to The Allstate Foundation.
- 55% of Florida teens wish their parents had spent more time teaching them to drive in demanding situations.
- Parents need and want to do more to keep their teen driver safer on the road.
- If they had it to do over again, 51% of parents in Florida agreed they would more closely monitor their teen’s driving immediately after licensure.
- Most parents are not setting rules around the most dangerous behaviors on the road, including passengers and nighttime driving. Only 53% of Florida teens say their parents have set rules on night restrictions, while just 34% say they have restrictions on the number of passengers in the car.
Visit the Drive it Home website to find tips, tools, videos and information that will help you and you teen reduce the risks of teen driving!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
- Guatemalan Dulce de Chilacayote Recipe (Crystalized Chilacayote Candy) - February 26, 2024
- Guatemalan Naranjas en Miel Recipe (Candied Oranges Recipe) - February 25, 2024
- Traditional Guatemalan Candy - February 25, 2024
These are fantastic tips. Really, I wish that my own parents had taken that sort of time with my oldest sister and me instead of relying on high school driver’s ed. (Actually, wait, I wish that they hadn’t as they made me nervous in the car even after ten years of driving experience. But I do wish that they’d found someone else to spend time in the car with us.) We may have had a much safer early driving record.
This is such an important cause, having parents involved makes such a difference it is in our hands the power to protect our teens. Congrats Paula great story!
I worked in insurance sales for 10 years and Allstate was always one of my favorite companies. They have great rates.
Es importante que los padres y teens asistan a esta clase eventos. La seguridad es muy importante
what an important cause and with having a new teenager on my hands and living in Fl I found this to be very informative and helpful
This is a great post with lots of valuable info for teens and parents of teens- good job recapping the event, as well! Sounds like fun!
Grate information, we the parents have to inform, and be the best example to our children. Thank you for sharing the stadistics.
Cuanta gente linda en esas fotos! LOL! That was a great event! I said to my husband that it is a great initiative that I hope people take advantage of it!
“Don’t let your friends drive drunk”. I still have the key chain with that message that my godmother gave me when I was 16. It is crucial to promote events like this one, for our kids’ safety. I wish there would be something similar in the place I live.
Excellent topic, especially when it is about our kids safety….. Thank you for sharing!
Me parecen excelentes este tipo de iniciativas. Para la seguridad de los jovencitos y para tranquilidad nuestra, como padres.
Que bueno que pudiste asistir.
A very important info. Thanks for sharing.
Excelentes consejos! Que bueno que compañias grandes se tomen el tiempo para tratar este problema. Gracias por compartit.
Que gran evento e información! Muchas Gracias por compartirlos!
¡FELIZ DÍA!ॐ
http://mamaholistica.com
Thankfully I’ve been through this portion of my trio’s lives- hope this is still around when the grandbabies need it! BB2U
We loved the comedy and like you we think was pure genius! We had so much fun and learned even more!
Was nice to see you!
Maravilloso! Qué bueno saber estas recomendaciones y que empresas como AllState contribuyan a educar a los futuros conductores.
This is a great idea and this would definitely narrow down road accidents caused by teen driving.
Outstanding subject, especially when it is about our children safety….. Thank you for sharing!
Take time to maintain your car. Make sure your car is clean before you leave for school. Driving with a dirty windshield can impair visibility and affect your driving.