TOP MISTAKES TEEN DRIVERS MAKE

Teenagers who get the keys to the car for the first time are often thrilled to have the freedom to hit the road for themselves. However, because they don’t have a lot of experience with this newfound privilege yet, they’re prone to making a lot of mistakes. It’s these mistakes that make teen drivers the demographic that’s far more likely to be involved in a car accident than any other. Want to help your teen avoid becoming part of these statistics? Here are some of the common mistakes that you can work on with them.

Distracted Driving

Distracted drivers of all ages make mistakes. When it comes down to it, the human brain isn’t particularly good at concentrating on multiple things at once, and when one thing steals our attention away from the road even slightly, our ability to avoid an accident skyrockets. This is particularly true for teens who don’t have the knowledge and driving experience to help them make better predictions and decisions about what might happen, leading to a huge number of accidents every year. Make sure teens know to keep the cell phone turned off and both hands on the wheel while the car is in motion.

Speeding

Youth comes with a sense of adventure, and adventure often includes a need for thrills. This combined with a sense of invincibility in some cases causes a number of teens who become comfortable with driving to start increasing their speeds. Speeding combined with un-trained reactions leads to situations where a young driver may not be able to stop in time to avoid an accident. Speed related accidents are usually some of the worst in terms of injuries and damages, so be sure to work with your teen to reign in that desire to go fast and instead choose a more comfortable, reasonable speed.

Panicking

Young drivers who are behind the wheel for one of their first times can get nervous, especially if it’s one of their first times being on their own. Often this nervousness can cause a driver to panic, and panicked drivers make mistakes, which causes other drivers to honk at and bully them, causing even more panic and mistakes. Staying calm is one of the most important and valuable things a young driver can do. Tell your teen to remember their training, follow what they’ve learned, and just take things slow and simple until they get comfortable with driving the car on their own.

Injured in a car accident because of a young driver? Call (407) 839-0866 to reach the Orlando car accident lawyers at The Maher Law Firm and request a case evaluation!