Finally reaching the driving age is an exciting time in a teenagers life, and a nerve-racking time for their parents!  It can be expensive insuring teenage drivers.  Here are some tips to keep teens safe on the road and may lead to lower insurance rates!

Focus on the Road

It is absolutely essential to focus on the road at all times while driving.  It seems obvious, yet it is something difficult to do, especially for new teen drivers.  There can be all kinds of distractions; the radio, passengers, phone calls, and even the pure excitement of being out on the road the first couple of months.  No matter where teens are driving (home from dinner, to a friend’s house, etc.), getting caught up in their favorite song that’s playing on the radio is always a possibility. This isn’t to say teens need to ignore their friends or drive in complete silence—just pay attention and focus!  Teenagers need to have the courage, if they are getting distracted, to kindly tell their friends that they need to concentrate on driving to ensure everyone gets to their destination safely, or maybe change the radio station or turn it down.

Avoid Technology while Driving

There are so many technological devices that can cause distractions these days; cell phones, GPS devices, satellite radio, ipods, etc.  Having these devices in the car is absolutely fine.  It’s how they are used while driving that makes the difference.  Don’t text and drive!  Don’t read texts and drive!  Don’t flip through the music library and drive!  Those things can wait, all of them.  Looking down for even a second could be the difference between getting into an accident and arriving safely.  You never know what the people around you are going to do.  It happens that fast.

Recognize Hazardous Situations

Learning to recognize hazardous situations is crucial to a teen driver’s maturity. Teens have little to no experience driving, and chances are they have not driven in all situations.  Snow is an obvious one.  It takes practice and knowledge to be able to drive in the snow, and sometimes that’s not even enough.  Rain can also be hazardous.  Floods can happen in seconds and cars can hydroplane instantly.  Pull over and wait for it to calm down or pass.  Winds, ice and hail are also hazardous situations you want to avoid.

These are just basic tips, time and experience will make all the difference in ones driving ability.

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