Teen Driving: Survey Insights and Safety Tips to Prevent Risky Behavior on the Road
Teen Driving
Getting behind the wheel of a car for the first time is a huge milestone in a teen’s life. If you’re a parent, it can also be a nerve-wracking experience watching your child drive away on their own after getting their license. As a parent of two young drivers, attorney Chris DiBella understands the complex mix of pride and worry that parents feel at this pivotal moment.
No one wants to think about their children getting into a crash, but the reality is, these tragedies do happen. At DiBella Law Injury and Accident Lawyers, we have helped many families navigate the steps to take after teen driving accidents. We even conducted surveys comparing what teens say they are doing behind the wheel to what parents perceive their teens to be doing.
Starting a conversation on teen driving safety is the first step toward helping your child avoid collisions. That’s why we’ve built a Teen Driver Safety Checklist to help you initiate this discussion and give your teen the insight they need to make good decisions on the road.
Survey Results: How Do the Risks of Teen Driving Differ Between Teens' Behavior and Parents’ Perception
We surveyed 100 teens, age 16-19, and 100 adults with teens in their household to get a clearer picture of teen driving behavior. We also wanted to understand the difference between parents’ perception and what teens actually do in the car. What we discovered was eye-opening: parents and teens live in two very different realities when it comes to road safety.
First and foremost, 90% of parents think their teen is a safe driver, but they rate other kids, who aren’t their own, much less favorably. Perhaps there is an inherent bias that parents have when evaluating the safety of their own teens. But the numbers don’t lie. When teens report on their own habits, the truth looks very different.
What’s Actually Distracting Teens?
We asked both teens and parents to rank common driving distractions on a scale of 1–5. Here’s what stood out:
Teens ranked other people in the car as the most distracting.
Parents, on the other hand, believed general phone use (talking and texting) was the biggest threat.
Click HERE to continue reading this article:
