5 Ways to Keep Your New Teen Driver Safer on the Road

We spend years protecting our children from all kinds of danger. Whether it’s in your home, at school, or out at the playground, we try to keep them from harm, and then all of a sudden, one day, we hand the keys to a car over to them, and they head out on their own. The good news is we can still help our teens stay safer when they are out on the road by themselves. It starts with good habits and continues with safe and reliable used cars for them to drive.

Remove Distractions

One of the first things teen drivers need to do in order to stay safe is to keep their distractions to a minimum. This means no phones, limiting noisy and distracting passengers, and no multi-tasking while behind the wheel.

Now, we can tell our teens to do all this, but it’s up to them to make the right decisions when you’re not right there next to them. If you want to keep closer tabs on them when they first get started, you can find good used cars with teen driver safety systems. These allow you to limit stereo volume, set distance parameters, and even set speed limits.

Have A Safe Car for Your Teen to Drive

Whether you’re considering buying a new car for your teen or you’ll only consider used cars for your new driver, make sure you get one with the safety equipment they need. All used cars are not created equal but it’s not difficult to find one with some advanced safety features such as a rearview camera, blind-spot monitoring, and forward collision warning with automatic braking.

Limit Driving at Night

Most accidents happen after the sun goes down. This goes for experienced adults as well as teen drivers, but their inexperience makes them more vulnerable. Many states limit the times when new teens can drive, but you might want to add some extra limits on your teen depending on their circumstances.

Set Down Ground Rules

One of the best ways to keep your teen driver safer is to make sure you all know the rules. Not just the rules of the road, but the rules and expectations you have for them as a new driver. Whether it’s a curfew, the distance they’re allowed to drive from home or school, or the number of passengers they’re allowed to have with them, make sure all the rules are clear.

Make Sure Your Teen Knows Their Car

Getting to know your car is an often-overlooked piece of the driving puzzle. Kids are excited to head out on the open road on their own, but before they get behind the wheel of their new-to-them used cars, they need to know how it all works.

Make sure they know what all the indicator lights mean, how to pop the hood, and where the spare tire is. You can even teach them how to check the tire pressure and oil levels if you think they’re up for it.