What kind of example am I setting?

We've all seen those drivers swerving like there were bumper pads along the side of the road. When we finally get the nerve to pass them, one of the most commons sights today is a young driver frantically texting someone on their cell phone.

I'll mutter under my breath (or sometimes quite above my breath), "what in the world are they doing. Do they have a death wish?" Then in happened...The other day I was headed home from Church and my phone starts beeping. It's my daughter texting to inform me she has been called into work. I just click reply and... it hit me.

I was about to do what I tell my daughter not to do and I tell parents to discourage their teen drivers from doing - send a text message while driving. It is easy to tell your teen driver what to do and what not to do. But am I, as a parent, teaching by example or just being a blow hard. People, and ESPECIALLY teenagers, are very aware when someone is talking one way and behaving another.

If you have a teen driver and want them to be safe, responsible, and considerate then don't tell them - show them. I know I will need to work on that, but its worth it.

Cathy

Tools and resources for teen driver safety, including a FREE GPS system to help keep your teen driver safe.

http://www.teendriverinsurance.com/rogers

How to Prevent Your Teen From Making the Five Most Common Mistakes

Here is the article from Officer Jim Poer...


Mistake #1- Speeding. The best way I know to deter a child from speeding is to install a GPS monitoring system that will alert you if your teen exceeds a pre-determined safe speed. The majority of fatal accidents occur at very high rates of speed. Knowing that their parents are monitoring their speed almost guarantees that your child won't make this mistake.



Mistake #2- Over-correcting. Spend time with your teen in a large open parking lot. Have them swerve the vehicle and try to regain control at various speeds. This will help them understand how the vehicle handles, and to learn the smaller adjustments needed to recover control.



Mistake #3- Distractions. There are laws now that are designed to reduce distractions, but kids frequently ignore these rules. As a parent you must help enforce them. The laws prohibiting cell phone use and limiting the number of passengers in the teens car were made to save lives.



Mistake #4- Following too Close. The current "3 Second" rule can help avoid making this mistake. The rule states that your vehicle should pass an object no sooner than 3 seconds after the car in front of you passes an object. Anything less means that the proper following distance is not being maintained. This rule is good, but I personally prefer the old rule that says that for every 10 MPH of speed, there should be at least one car length between your vehicle and the vehicle you are following.



Mistake #5- Failure to Yield. Apparently, teens are not getting the message on when they should yield. Drivers' education courses are not covering this well, if at all. It is very likely your teen doesn't have this knowledge and it certainly needs to be addressed. Review the different situations and spend some time in the car with your teen practicing the rules on yielding. The bottom line is that teens are not getting the drivers' education they need from school. It is up to you as the parent to spend time with your teen reviewing the rules of the road and practicing behind the wheel.



I hope this helps you with your teen driver. Please visit our site and sign up for the VIP Access. In doing so you will have access to helpful information for your teen driver and receive a monthly newsletter designed for parents of teen drivers. www.teendriverinsurance.com/rogers



Thanks,

Cathy

Five Most Common Mistakes Teen Drivers Make

This is an article my friend, Officer Jim Poer wrote on teen driver safety. I thought you should read it… The hardest part of my job is having to knock on a parent's door to deliver the worst news they could ever get. After 30 years of investigating accidents, this is the part of my job I wish I never had to do. That is why I am committed to helping parents make their teens safer drivers.

This month, I want to share with you the 5 most common mistakes that lead to teen driver accidents and fatalities.

Mistake #1- Speeding. There is a multiplier effect when it comes to speed. The faster you go, the amount of time required to stop is multiplied and at higher speeds, the time required to stop is greatly increased.

Kids don't understand this, the physics side of driving that is. They assume they can stop when they want and unfortunately they don't get this knowledge from their driver's education class.

Speed also leads to other common mistakes such as the second most common mistake.

Mistake #2- Over-Correcting. When a teen driver gets into a situation where they need to correct the direction of the vehicle, they often times, over-correct causing loss of control. When you add speed to this effect, the reaction is almost always an over correction that can't be brought back under control.

Mistake #3- Distractions. This is the subject of my latest blog and you can read more on this at www.parentalcourage.com. The problem these days is that kids have way too many things in their cars to distract them. Cell phones, mp-3 players, and text messaging, to name a few. But the biggest distraction is usually other kids in the car.

Mistake #4- Following too close. Just as I described in Mistake #1, when a vehicle is following too close at a high rate of speed, the ability to avoid a collision is reduced to almost nothing if that vehicle's driver decides to suddenly stop.

Mistake #5- Failure to Yield. Many accidents occur when a teen driver fails to yield to another driver when the other driver legally has the right of way. Failing to check for other vehicles in the blind spot, or not accurately estimating the closing rate of another vehicle are also very common problems.

Sincerely,

Master Police Officer III James Poer

Officer Poer is a 30 year veteran accident investigator with the High Point Police Department. He is also a parent of 4 drivers. His experience, conviction, and advice is demonstrated on his website- www.parentalcourage.com. Please visit his site often and remain vigilant on your teen driver’s safety! Later this week, I will share with you what Officer Poer says on How to Prevent Your Teen From Making These Mistakes.

You can also learn more at my website www.teendriverinsurance.com/rogers. Wishing you and your family the best in health, happiness and prosperity.

Cathy