Allstate Foundation and Drive it Home Offer Teen Driving Tips DriveitHome CGC

Last week I was invited to participate in a teen safe driving event in Sacramento, Ca. that was offered by the Allstate Foundation and Drive it Home, an interactive website that features engaging videos, practice tips and other valuable resources. A representative from the National Safety Council was also on the schedule. The evening was geared to educating parents on teen safe driving and I was glad I went! I took my good friend with me too as she also has a teen son getting ready to get his license soon.

As many of you know, my son is in his first year of driving, which is the time for the most risk as a young driver. There were so many great tips that were shared, I am not sure where to begin since I have 4 pages of notes!

First there was a great comedy group called Second City Communications that did a whole skit full of different tips and humorous looks at teen and poor driving skills overall. It was a fun way to look at the facts. We also heard from a speaker from the National Safety Council and a parent of a child that was killed by a newly licensed teen driver. That was very interesting and very touching.

Speaking of facts, I want to share some facts from the Allstate Foundation and Drive it Home with you….

Did you know:

* 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.

* Research from The Allstate Foundation shows nearly half of parents express regret about not monitoring their teen driver after they get a license, and more than two-thirds wish they spent more time practicing driving with their teen in high-risk situations. To educate parents on driving risks, the Allstate Foundation is helping NSC 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.

* Parents don’t understand the most deadly risks to their teen driver. Research shows that inexperience is the No. 1 cause of teen crashes, but 74 percent of parents inaccurately believe that risk-taking is the leading cause.

* Despite the fact that 9 in 10 parents say it’s very important for teens to learn to manage night driving and driving with passengers, one in three parents admit they have not adequately covered these items with their teen.

* Nearly 30 percent of parents are not setting rules around some of the most dangerous behaviors including nighttime driving and passengers in the car. Many parents also don’t require their teen to get permission before driving somewhere.

Drive it Home is a site that helps parents with methods to improve and monitor your teens driving. They offer tips and tools to help you. Here are some things that you can do to help your teen.

Sixty-four percent of parents are actively looking for resources to help manage their teens’ driving experience. Among the lifesaving recommendations and resources at driveithome.org:

* Drive at least 30 minutes each week with a newly licensed teen.

* Managing the highest driving risks, such as nighttime driving and with young passengers in the car.

* Practice specific skills together and provide teens with feedback in the following critical areas:
1) Scanning the road ahead to recognize and respond to hazards
2) Controlling speed, stopping, turning and following distance.
3) Judging the gap between vehicles in traffic – such as when exiting parking lots and making left-hand turns.

Also at driveithome.org, parents can sign up to receive weekly driving practice tips and suggestions via e-mail, and print, discuss and sign a Parent-Teen Driving Agreement.

Laws and Info on California Teen Driving

Each state has different laws that pertain to teen drivers. I know in California, a newly licensed teen cannot have another minor in the car with them while driving for the first 12 months. I love this law since most accidents with teens occur within the first 12 months of driving. Parents say it’s very important for their teen to learn a variety of skills behind the wheel, but aren’t teaching their teen to manage the highest risk driving situations. Nearly 36% of parents in California 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 survey.

* If they had it to do over again, six out of 10 parents in California said they would expose their teens to higher-risk driving situations when teaching their teens to drive.
* Nearly half of teens in California (46%) wish their parents had spent more time teaching them to drive in demanding situations. The national percentage is 55%.

Other California Facts

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 804 fatalities in crashes involving at least one 15- to 19-year-old motor vehicle driver in California from 2009-11. A total of 210 teen drivers (15-19), 135 teen passengers (15-19) and 101 other age passengers in the teen’s vehicle and 358 others were killed in those crashes.

California teens must log a minimum of 50 hours of driving practice with an adult who as at least 25 years old (10 of which must be nighttime hours) before they can obtain a driver’s license.

Finding Information for your teen driver:

I am so glad that I got to attend this. I have spoken with my son and have committed to driving with him more often to insure his safety as well as the others on the road. Thanks to our sponsors for being committed to keeping our children safer on the road!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.