Remember when your children were little babies? My children were littler than most, since they were born three (3) months premature. You are always watching out for their well-being. Wondering how are you going to teach them to take care of themselves in the world that we have created for ourselves. You figure that you have many years to provide with the wisdom and knowledge to prepare them for the outside world. As they start to grow from toddler to middle school age, your children listen and absorb what you have to offer as a sponge. Then at some point, that all changes. You try to determine what had a happened. You realize that you child has reached a millstone in their lives: Teenager. All of us who have children who have reached these years in life know what happens: Everything becomes an issue. The food that you buy, the clothes that you but for your children or the cell phone usage; all become a problem. It seems like any decision you make creates an issue for you child that you would never expect.

Another milestone arises when you child becomes of driving age. This becomes fraught with problems. Is your child ready to drive a car? Now, it is not your child who is affected. You need to be concerned for other drivers on the road. Just as the attention spans of teenagers are short and limited, this does not lend itself too good drivers. Distractions for teen age drivers are a real problem. You combine that with their limited driving experience, accidents will happen. They are inevitable.

How do you prevent the distractions? How do you protect your children? How do you protect other drivers who have no idea that the car behind may have  teenage driver? The first thing to determine is what the distractions for teenage drivers are. AAA Traffic Safety Foundation found in a recent study that electronic devices such as cell phones are the leader in distractions for teenage drivers. Girls are more likely than boys to use electronic devices while driving. It can be twice as much. This should not be a surprise to parents of teenage girls.

How do you prevent an accident caused by distracted driving. Most states have instituted a graduated licensing program in order to assist new drivers in learning how to drive. New Jersey has one as well. These programs initially place many restrictions on new drivers and as they get older, the restrictions are removed. Some states, including New Jersey restrict using an electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. Another response might be is to purchase a hands free device or some blue tooth technology to avoid the distraction. This would not solve the texting. Further, this would only mask the problem. You need to teach your children not use any electronic devices at all while driving.

There are many organizations that provide literature on how to discuss the use of electronic devices while driving with your children. Another option is to take away the electronic devices completely. As a parent of teenagers, this would not at all. The best advice is to keep a constant line of communication open with your children. Talk with them not at them about the hazards to driving while using an electronic device.

Source:

AAA Traffic Safety Foundation