Parent-Teen Driving Contract
Car accidents account for nearly 40% of the total number of deaths for teens ages 15 to 19, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, making it the leading cause of death in this age group.
The good news is that things are slowly improving.
In 2008 more than 2,730 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 died in motor vehicle crashes, down 13.7% from 3,174 in 2007 and down 20.2% from 3,431 in 1998.
The Success of Graduated Drivers' Licensing Laws
Graduated Drivers' Licensing (GDL) is becoming law in many states. GDL programs generally restricts nighttime, expressway, and unsupervised driving during initial stages, but lifts these restrictions with time and further testing of the individual, eventually concluding with the individual attaining a full drivers' license.
In states where a GDL is required, accident fatalities for teen drivers have dropped by up to 30%.
There's More You Can Do for Your Teen Driver
Many families are building upon the success of the GDL programs, and are tailoring their own Parent-Teen Driving Contract (PTDC) that meets their families specific needs and expectations. No state has the optimal GDL program.
Our Parent-Teen Driving Contract can be tailored to meet you families particular needs, and guide you in a discussion with your soon-to-be teen driver about driving safety, responsibility, your expectations, and the consequences of disobeying your rules.
Having a PTDC combined with the CarChip Pro to monitor actual driving behavior and provide immediate reminders to your teen driver, you have a powerful set of tools to establish expectations for driving privleges, and monitor the skills of the teen drivers. You can consider relaxing restrictions over time as the teen demonstrates responsible driving behavior.
It's Best to Start Early with the "Soon-to-be" Teen Driver
By far the best time to have this conversation with your teen is before they actually get their license. Studies show a much higher teen acceptance rate when the rules and limitations of the PTDC are set early, and that the teen understands their driving privileges depend on meeting their obligations in the agreement.
Trying to implement a Parent-Teen Driving Contract after the teen has been driving for several months or years generally receives greater resistance from the teen, and can be much harder to implement successfully.
The exception is if the teen has already had an accident, received a traffic ticket, or has had driving privileges revoked for some other reason. In these cases the PTDC (along with any other remedial training mandated) can be used to help the teen begin driving again.
Get Your Free Copy of the Parent Teen Driving Contract
