As the overprotective mother of Josh, my only child, I do not share his enthusiasm when he got his driver's license . Parents and guardians are doing everything they can to prepare new drivers for the realities of the road ... but, sometimes, worse still manages to produce.
Car crashes are the number one killer of teenagers in America. Unfortunately, the main reason behind teenage car accident victims is not using a seat belt - a cause entirely avoidable. Another fatal mistake? To be distracted. Unfortunately, nearly 80 percent of all driver accidents involve some form of inattention.
My son Josh has become a part of that statistic last summer when he took his eyes off the road to change the radio station. An accident like this can happen in an instant and lasting distraction even seconds can change lives forever. It has certainly changed ours.
But we were lucky that Josh, not a police-was able agent to call and let us know that there had been an accident. I felt lucky to know that, even if the car has been returned and totaled it was fine.
What I learned
As unfortunate as this experience was, it taught me some important things.
crash test rating matters. Turn on one of the best things we have Josh was the security clearance of the search car. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a great resource: It assesses the vehicles as good, acceptable, marginal, or poor based on performance in five crash tests
Our Dodge Journey 2010 Josh vehicle when driving. the accident occurred, probably helped save his life being that earned him the prize of Top Safety Pick from IIHS. When it came time to replace the car totaled, we purchased a newer version of the same vehicle.
Seatbelts and stories-save lives. Josh was happily attached when the accident happened. I believe that persistent lectures about the importance of buckling from a mom who works for an insurance company has made a difference. Something else has also made an impression.
There are no long a member of the swimming team of Josh tragically died after being ejected from a vehicle driven by an inexperienced driver. The girl would have lived she was wearing a seat belt.
This example from real life stayed with Josh and reminded him that our warnings are not only the words of overprotective parents.
Today, the girl's parents work to educate other students about the importance of wearing seat belts. I encourage you to share our story and photos with all teen drivers in your life as they share them. Maybe Josh's story can make the same difference for your teen that the story of his teammate has done for him.
Other tips to protect your teen
Here are some more tried and true tips to keep safe teenagers behind the wheel.
- Emphasize practice together. Your state already requires a certain number of hours behind the wheel with a licensed adult, but it's worth it to put in some extra practice time.
- Set a good example. children learn more from what you do than what you say, then buckle up, turn on the phone and follow the speed limit.
- Talk to your teen. Of course, he or she might roll their eyes and pretend not to hear you. But do not let that stop you from talking about the dangers of distracted and the importance of seat belts.
- Visit JoinTheShift.org. This page contains information about the program teen safe driving ERIE, a link to a secure driver engagement and more teenage driving tips and resources.
- Visit Your ERIE Insurance Agent . ERIE Ask your agent to meet your young driver to add to family policy. Your agent can share stories and tips that your teen may be more likely to consider since the message is not from you.
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