Tips for Teaching Teens to Be Safe Drivers

In honor of this week’s Teen Driver Safety Week, which runs from October 16 through the 22nd, we’ve listed 5 tips on how to help your teen become a safe driver.

Of all the issues related to raising a teen, one of the top worries is about them driving on their own. Understandably so, with unfortunate facts and statistics around teen driving.

Teen Driving Safety Statistics

According to the CDC, in 2013, six teens aged 16–19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries. 15-24 year-olds represent only 14% of the U.S. population, but they account for 30% of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries. And in particular, male teens accounted for $19 billion of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries while females accounted for $7 billion. Also, the crash rate for 16-year-olds is 3.7 times higher than drivers of all ages, according to California DMV.

The information around teen driving is scary, but there are preventative measures parents can put in place to help their children become safer drivers, lowering their risks of becoming an unfortunate statistic.

Life360 Driving Safety Features for Teens

Our newest feature, Life360 Driver Protect, allows families to have a conversation about driving habits with actionable data.

Under a user’s Profile is a Safe Drive Review. This summary provides insights around what a driver does during their route. Events monitored are top speed, instances of rapid acceleration, hard braking and cell phone usage – all listed at the time and exact location of occurrence.

Sit down with your family members and recap what is happening during drives. By recognizing these unsafe habits, you can help lower the amount of unsafe Events, and therefore lower the possibility of an unsafe drive.

5 Ways to Get Your Teen Ready to Drive Safe with Life360

Here are 5 ways to help get your teen interested and comfortable about teen driving safety by using Life360 Driver Protect:

1. Enable Drive Detection in the Life360 app on your phone and on your teen’s phone. By allowing your teen to see your drives as well as their own, you will show your confidence in using this tool for positive feedback, rather than as a tool which goes behind their back.
2. Schedule 30 minutes each evening to go over your teen’s driving Events. Talk through how Events such as rapid braking and acceleration can be avoided by focusing on the road and driving at  safer speeds.
3. Provide positive feedback when the number of driving Events decrease. A new driver is inexperienced and will make mistakes, but focusing on improvement will encourage them rather than lower their confidence.
4. Gamify the experience, like rewarding good behavior with prizes like gas and gift cards.
5. Reiterate the importance of safe driving. Use statistics in a constructive manner, rather than in a fearful way, to help them understand the effects of habits like texting while driving, driving at night, or driving while impaired.

In addition to helping your teen become safer on the road, it’s also important to educate them on what to do in case of emergency. Simple things like fender benders, flat tires, and driving in severe weather can be scary to anyone, especially to someone who’s new on the road.

Life360 Saves Lives

Life360 Driver Protect also features Extended Roadside Assistance. We provide 24/7 assistance if you or your family requires a tow, needs advice on what to do in a minor accident, or wants to locate a nearby hotel or hospital. Call us by just tapping a button in the Life360 app.

Raising a teen can be hard, and teaching them to drive can be even harder. Life360 Driver Protect is here to help make that process easier, and to help your whole family become better, safer drivers. Register online today.