*conversation sponsored by SheSavvy and The National Safety Council, thoughts are my own*

I’m taking a break from beauty today to talk about something that has been on my mind lately. Having two new teen drivers in our house has given me a new outlook on car safety. We all know the importance of wearing a seat belt, but there’s so much more to keeping our kids safe in the driver’s seat than that. Driving with your teen and taking them to driver’s ed is not enough. Once they have their license, you as a parent need to take a proactive role in their journey as a new driver.
I recently had an eye-opening conversation with my 16 year old son about his newly licensed friends that he sees driving and using Snapchat and other forms of social media. That is terrifying to me as a parent. I’m scared for those kids, for their parents, and for pedestrians. We live in a “hands free” state, so there is no reason that it should be happening, but it is.
What can you as a parent do? Keep communications open with your teen, and talk with them about distracted driving. If your state doesn’t limit the number of passengers riding with your teen, maybe you should. Talk with your teen about never using the phone while they are driving. Texting and social media can wait!

Teen Risks:

• car crashes are the #1 killer of teens
• teens crash most often because they are inexperienced, NOT because they take more risks
• additional passengers are one of the biggest distractions to teen drivers
• most fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur between 9pm-12am
• more than half of teens killed in a car crash were not restrained by a seat belt

How Parents Can Help Their Teen Driver:

• be a good driving role model for your teen
• practice driving with your teen after they have their license
• make clear curfew rules about driving after dark
• limit the passengers your teen drives with
• stress the importance of not using the phone for anything while your teen is driving

I want to share with you a great website that has become a valuable resource in our house. DriveItHOME.org is a valuable interactive presentation that shows the risks today’s teens face as new drivers. It stresses the importance of parents as driving role models, and encourages supervised practice behind the wheel. DriveItHOME.org is a free online resource developed by the National Safety Council for parents of new teen drivers. You can also find helpful videos and posters on DriveItHOME.org.

Please share Steer Your Teen Down the Right Road program with other parents and teen drivers.