Driver Education for Teens
St. Louis, Kansas City, and Jefferson City, Missouri
Having your first car is considered an important rite of passage by many Americans. Learning how to drive a car is not only exciting, but beneficial, and can help your teen be able to respond in an emergency. However, driving is a privilege that comes with much responsibility, and driver education for teens can help them understand that driving can offer great risk as well as great freedom.
Teen Accident Statistics
In 2008, drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 accounted for the highest number of crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This age group also accounted for the highest number of deaths in the past year. Individuals between the ages of 21 and 25 were involved in the next highest number of crashes, followed by age group 26 to 30. The implications are that education and experience create safer drivers.
Drivers Education Benefits
Drivers education for teens offers more benefits than simply teaching a young adult how to drive. Understanding the purposes behind traffic laws and how to follow them correctly can keep your teen from incurring costly tickets, as well as offer an insurance credit in many states. The greatest benefit of driver education for teens, though, is the potential for keeping your child safe from car accidents.
While Missouri carries a graduated drivers license policy which requires young adults to prove responsible driving capabilities before graduating to a full drivers license, experience alone may not adequately prepare your teen for an emergency.
Many teen driver education courses offer information on driving safety including:
- Changing tires safely
- How to use jumper cables
- Where to pull over in case of an emergency
- How to avoid dangerous drivers
- Proceeding to a safe place, like a police station, if being followed or asked to pull over
The NHTSA understands that teenagers are exposed to the greatest amount of danger while driving because of their inexperience and, often, lack of education. They have provided a section in their website for teen drivers to help promote safe driving practices and prevent accidents.
Teen Texting and Cell Phone Use
In Missouri, drivers 21-years-old and younger are not allowed to text while driving. However, other states are prohibiting all texting and disallowing teen cell phone use while driving. You can help keep your teen safe by teaching him or her to pull over to use a cell phone or to text, and to be aware of other drivers and surroundings while operating a vehicle.
If you are interested in additional driver training, you may choose to read more about defensive driver courses.
If you would like to know more about drivers education for teens in Jefferson City, St. Louis, and Kansas City, Missouri, please contact the experienced auto accident attorneys at The Bradley Law Firm today.