The number of young drivers killed or seriously injured in road crashes is a serious problem. In Australia, “young people aged 16 to 25 make up 13% of Australia’s population but account for nearly 25% of road deaths.”

Whereas in America, more than 6,000 teens die each year as a result of car crashes. And teens are more likely to be in a car crash than older drivers. “Cars are the number one killer of teens in America,” said Drive and Stay Alive.

Once our teens reach the age that the government permits them to learn driving, they will use every ounce of energy to twist our arms to let them drive.

Although our teens have to learn driving sooner or later, as parents, we would really worry about their safety on the road. Recently, my teenage daughter has asked me for letting her learn driving repeatedly. Like many other parents, I would really want my daughter know how to drive. But I want to make sure whether she is ready or not, whether she is mature to start driving. It’s a serious and life-and-death matter.

Thus, I think it’s better to look for some signs of indicating if our teens are ready to start driving:

1. Good coordination is basic but not enough. Road experience is the key element of safe driving. Before your teen starts driving, whenever you drive and come across some tricky traffic situation, ask your teen what should be done in such situation. Test them mentally to see if their observation is good enough.

2. Risk taking and speeding are two main “killers”. If your teen is still very impulsive and doesn’t have any all-round perspective of traffic, maybe he/she is not ready yet. Wait until you consider he/she shows a certain degree of prudence, as research states raising the driving age is a good solution.

3. Financially support your teen to have enough formal driving sessions. Once he/she gets a learner permit, take some time to observe and instruct him/her how to drive. Drill their observation skills and reinforce their road experience. If you can feel confident in sitting the car that your teen is driving, it could be the sign that he/she is ready.

What other signs do you think we need?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 8th, 2006 at 11:45 pm and is filed under 13-18 yrs: Teenager, Health & Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.