I am not an adolescent psychologist, but I don’t think I’m risking my credibility by observing that, in general, teenagers often operate in their own little world, focusing on themselves and how they fit in with their peers, regarding themselves as immune or invulnerable to life’s dangers.  “The bigger picture” and “teenager” rarely belong in the same sentence.

And we, as parents, are asked to entrust car keys to these limited-vision beings.

So how do we get teen drivers to acknowledge and internalize the risks of driving, and to modify their behavior?  Obviously, teens are capable of  protecting themselves.  They know not to step off a cliff, to jump into the path of an oncoming train, or to touch a high-voltage wire.  How do we push driving into this category of clearly understood dangers?

In driver education (whether received from a commercial school or parents / guardians), and in materials provided by motor vehicle departments, police, schools, and advocacy groups, two approaches predominate:  gruesome videos and photos; and getting teens to understand the consequences for their families, friends, and communities of bad driving decisions.  Herewith, a strong vote for the second approach.

(Once again, not going out on a limb,)  I observe that teens in our society are desensitized to blood, guts, gore, body parts, mangled cars, and crash scenes.  Simply put, millions of people pay money to go to the movies just for the thrill of seeing exactly these things – high-speed car chases, crashes, and explosions, and injury and death. 

The most prominent, recent example of the gruesome approach to safer teen driving is the “Gwent County Video,” produced last year by a police department in the United Kingdom.  The video shows the slow-motion death of several girls in a car whose driver was texting.  I would emphasize that this video, packed with heads snapping back, twisted metal, dislocated body parts, and blood, has been a worldwide hit on YouTube.  It has been popular, I think, not because it graphically demonstrates the dangers of texting, but because it shows injuries and death in slow motion.  Its effect is titillating, not cautionary.

Thus, videos and photos of automobile crashes and injuries, are, at least, not very effective in sensitizing our teens to the dangers of teen driving.

Contrast this approach with teens listening to searing, personal testimony from parents and siblings of teen drivers who have lost their lives.  Here in Connecticut, this is the approach taken by !MPACT, or Mourning Parents Act, www.mourningparentsact.org.  There are similar organizations across the country.  !MPACT was founded by mothers who lost their teens in accidents.  Today, Sherry Chapman and Janice Palmer, frequently joined by Dave Roy, Donna Jenner, and others, heroically tell hundreds of high school students about the day their teens left the house, and how they learned that their kids had been in a serious accident, and then that they were dead.  And then the details of the accident and injuries.  And then their agonizing descent into shock, disbelief, and horror, as they realized that there would be no more birthdays, holidays, graduations, and weddings.  Go to the !MPACT website for more.

I have attended several !MPACT presentations, and spoken at one.  My daughter spoke at one, about losing her brother.  When these mothers, fathers, and siblings speak, you can hear a pin drop in the auditorium.  These teens are not texting or whispering.  They are fully engaged in both the message being delivered and what it would sound like if their own mother, father, sister or brother were speaking.  Tears flow, and invariably students send messages to the presenters about how their remarks have led to changes in their habits as drivers and passengers.  Sometimes, these teens confess in their messages to near crashes that almost cost them their lives.

As with many of my observations and advice to parents on this blog, this is not rocket science, and if I am belaboring the obvious, I apologize.  But in summary: (1) getting teens to internalize the dangers of driving is critical; (2) too often, we try to convey lessons about safe driving with photos and videos that feature blood and twisted metal; and (3) we would do better to focus more on the human consequences of bad driving decisions, on the multi-dimensional and incalculable suffering that follows serious injury or death of a teen driver.  Ask your teen’s school to invite !MPACT or an organization like it, or a speaker who can deliver a compelling personal story, to come and speak about the risks of  teen driving.  Or introduce your teen to someone in your community who is willing to be a real-life example.  There are, unfortunately, quite a few of us.

Attached as promised, as a PDF, is a sample, filled-out version of a new national model for a teen driver contract.  I recruited a teenager I know to be the “Teen Driver” (initials “TD”) and a mother I know (really well, in fact)  to be the “Mother / Guardian” (”MG”).  I filled in the “Dad / Guardian” (”DG”) parts.  So, attached is what this model, negotiated and filled in by a family, would look like.

Confession:  when I started out seven weeks ago with Part 1 of this series, I had a different vision of what this model contract would look like when done, but I learned a great deal from the drafting process and comments sent by readers of this blog. But I am now more convinced than ever that our collective effort has produced a model that builds and improves on other teen driver contracts available on-line.  Specifically,  this model offers the following combination of improvements:

• A statement of purpose;

• A reminder that the contract needs to be consistent with your state’s law;

• A recommendation to introduce the contract when our teen obtains a learner’s permit and finalize it when he or she gets a full license (that is, the right to drive solo);

• Acknowledgements, initialed separately by the teen driver and each supervising adult, of each of the critical dangers of teen driving;

• A separate acknowledgement, initialed by supervising adults (to show teens that this contract is a two-way street) of their positions as role models and teachers of safe driving habits;

• A clear statement against joyriding, by requiring a “driving plan”;

• A reminder that adult supervision of teen driving is an on-going, day-by-day, circumstance-by-circumstance task that requires judgment;

• A suspension period of all driving for the most serious violations, and a period of no solo driving for other misconduct;

• A specific teen driver promise to pull over and stop safely before texting or using a cell phone;

• Recognition that misconduct reports can come to supervising adults from a variety of sources;

• Clear times and procedures for curfews and use of any exceptions;

• A minimum time period (one year suggested) for the contract, as opposed to “let’s try this for a few weeks and then we’ll re-negotiate”;

• A procedure for keys, license, and the vehicle if driving is suspended or limited;

• The option to use a trusted third party (neighbor, relative, etc.) to resolve disputes;

• Identification of technology to be used;

• A statement of who will pay for what portion of the expenses; and

• Most importantly, a COMMITMENT to safety and following the terms of the contract.

In summary, in this model I have tried to take the best features of existing teen driver contracts and improve upon them, to better reflect the current best practices that supervising adults should use with their teen drivers.

I hope this new model will be a useful tool for teens and parents.

Click here to download the contract

Revision:  January 6, 2010

NOTES:

• For background, see Parts 1 and 2, posted on this blog.

 

• Reader feedback and suggestions for improvements strongly encouraged!  (tim@fromreidsdad.org).

 

• Model contract attached as a Word document, which may be downloaded and modified as necessary and advisable.  I only ask that, if you use or forward this contract to others, you identify this blog as the source, so that the Part 1 and Part 2 background discussions are also available to the user.  If you don’t have Word, a non-modifiable PDF document may be downloaded as an alternative.

 

• Part 4 (upcoming) will be a sample / filled-out model.

Click here to download the Word document

Click here to download the PDF document 

Thanks!

Tim Hollister

First, let me reiterate that by encouraging the use of TDC, by no means am I retreating from the basic message of this blog:  There Is No Such Thing As A Safe Teen Driver.  Signing a TDC should never distract a parent from the essential question of whether a teen is ready to be licensed or should get behind the wheel in particular circumstances.  A TDC is an upfront agreement about driving conduct, but should not allow an unready teen to drive.

This post provides guidance about how to negotiate, sign, and implement a TDC.  The paragraphs in this post will be condensed into instructions for the contract itself, which will be the next (third) post.

1. Getting To Yes.  In their classic book Getting To Yes, Roger Fisher and William Ury advise that negotiation of any agreement should focus on achieving a mutual objective,  interests instead of positions, and  “separating the people from the problem.”  For a TDC, this means starting with the mindset that the ultimate, mutual goal is the safety of the driver, passengers, and everyone who shares the road with the teen.  This should be a cooperative process that ends in achievement, not victory.
2. The Need To Compromise.  Notwithstanding what I just said, introducing the idea of a TDC to your teen and then starting the negotiation will unleash conflicting forces.  As a parent, that is, the person with the keys and thus the power, you must make it clear that negotiating and signing a contract is a non-negotiable part of your teen being allowed to drive, but then you need to show your teen your willingness to be reasonable, to listen, and to accommodate your child’s viewpoint whenever you can.  Put another way, a contract is most likely to be followed if both parties give up something substantive; a common definition of a good compromise is a deal that no one likes but everyone accepts as the best that can be done.  Therefore, as a parent, you should insist on a contract but not dictate its terms, and remember that an important part of a TDC is the very act of discussing safety issues with your teen.
3. Motivation.  When explaining to your teen why a contract is essential, mention at least these reasons:
   • driving can cause injury, death, damage, and financial liability, and can even result in criminal charges;
   • even though state government will allow teens to drive before age 18, parents remain legally and financially responsible for their teen’s driving;
   • listing the consequences of misconduct helps deter it; and
   • deciding on the consequences of bad driving is better done in a calm setting, before the teen starts, rather than in the aftermath of an accident or a ticket.
4. Who?  Who signs the contract?  Obviously, the teen driver must sign, but the agreement should also be signed by every adult who will have some role in continued training and supervision of the teen’s driving.  This may include a relative or neighbor; sometimes it takes a village.  Having all responsible adults sign may avoid the teen trying to avoid a suspension by lobbying an adult who did not sign.  This step also informs all supervising adults that there is a contract in place.
5. When?  When to negotiate and sign?  My recommendation is to negotiate a draft of the contract when the teen obtains a learner’s permit, so that both teen and supervising adult(s) can keep the proposed terms in mind as the teen progresses through driving instruction; and then finalize and sign the contract when the teen obtains a driver’s license.
6. How Long?  Most model agreements available on the Internet have no time period or are based on an unstated assumption that the contract lasts until the driver turns 18, when most states relax or remove restrictions on such matters as passengers and curfews.  Conversely, a few models treat the initial contract as something to be renegotiated periodically.  My thought:  the contract should be in effect for a minimum of one year from when the teen becomes a licensed driver (that is, authorized to drive solo) or until the teen’s 18^th birthday, whichever is longer, with no reference to renegotiation.  Also, it may be advisable, if the teen is licensed while she is age 17, for the contract to remain in place for one full year even if that extends past the 18^th birthday.  The teen should understand that the agreement will be changed only if state laws change or the family or teen undergoes a major life change (parents separating or divorcing, a geographic move, injury or disability, change in economic circumstances, etc.).
7. Principles And Facts.  A TDC should start with a list of agreed-upon facts and principles, including why teen driving is dangerous, why the teen and parent(s) are signing the contract, and how the teen has satisfied the state’s requirements for new drivers.
8. Consistency With State Law.  Every provision needs to be consistent with or stricter than state law.  Thus, if the state’s curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds is 11:00 PM, the contract can set an earlier but not later time.  Thus, a TDC requires parents and teens to learn their state’s laws.
9. Who Can Report Misconduct?  Many model TDCs refer only to a ticket or citation issued by law enforcement, but what if a teacher, coach, neighbor, friend, relative, or even a fellow student tells the parent, “I saw your teen texting while driving,” or “I saw several passengers in the car”?  What if the parent receives an anonymous tip?  This is, I think, a parent’s judgment call, which should be based on whether the report is from a credible source.  If your teen protests, and your TDC has identified a mediator (see No. 21), perhaps the mediator can sort things out.  But the contract should note that suspensions may result from reports or events other than official, police-issued tickets.
10. Overlap With State Law.  Suppose your teen receives a ticket and a conviction that will result in the state motor vehicle department suspending his license?  Must he accept the suspension in your contract and the state’s penalty?  I think so.  First, the police and state agencies can take weeks or months to process a license suspension; only a parent can invoke the suspension when it is most needed, which is immediately.  Second, the teen should understand that parents/families and the police/state government have different interests in safe teen driving, each important.  As a matter of deterring misconduct, the teen should understand that a violation may result in two suspensions.
11. “Suspension” Not “Consequence.”  Many contracts on the Internet use the word “consequence” to describe what happens after a violation, but this word is so used for young children that I think “suspension” is better.  This word also reinforces that driving is a privilege, not a right.
12. Procedure.  Another important, up-front clarification is:  what does “My driving privileges will be suspended for ‘x’ days” mean?  Will the teen hand over his license?  Keys?  Will the car stay where it is?  Will the parent put a lock on the steering column?  Specify these procedures.
13. No Driving, Or No Solo?  A critical decision is whether the teen will lose her privilege of driving solo, or all driving.  In other words, will the consequence be to revert to the learner’s permit mode, where the teen may still drive but only with the parent or guardian in the car?  There are two schools of thought here.  One is that teens need on-the-road experience, and suspending all driving interferes with continued training.  Another is that misconduct should result in no driving at all.  Also factored here is how the teen, under a suspension, gets to school, a job, or activities.  Some parents will say, “You lost your license, you find a ride.”  I can’t prescribe an answer here, but urge parents to think through this issue.
14. Counting Days.  Understand how you will calculate a suspension.  One way is to specify the exact number of days, and start Day 1 when the suspension is imposed (and hopefully, agreed upon), and count 24-hour-periods starting then.  Thus, if the violation occurs Saturday night, you discuss the situation Sunday morning, and your teen gives up his license on Sunday at Noon for the agreed-on seven days, the suspension ends at Noon the following Sunday.
15. Curfew Exceptions.  Most state curfew laws have exceptions, such as for school-related activities or employment.  If your teen will be invoking one of these exceptions (for example, he has a job that ends after the curfew), write in how this will be handled.
16. Non-Driving Matters.  Should driving misconduct affect non-driving matters, such as being grounded from social activities, adding household chores, withholding allowances, etc.?  Instead of a suspension of driving privileges, what about doing the dishes for a whole week?  My recommendation:  stick to driving.  Driving violations should lead driving suspension or limits.  This contract is complicated enough without bringing in non-driving matters.
17. Finances.  The only exception to No. 16 is finances.  A TDC is a good place for a basic statement regarding what part of driving costs will be paid by the parent and by the teen.
18. Parent Override.  Teens may balk at this suggestion, which in a way undermines the purpose of a written agreement, but parents are ultimately responsible for the safety of their teens, supervision of teen driving requires judgment, and circumstances can arise in the life of a teen where driving will be unsafe. A parent needs to have on-the-spot suspension authority, and a TDC should recognize this.  If, for example, a teen has gone on a school field trip, arrived home at 3:00 AM, and wants to drive somewhere at 7:00 AM, parents need to be able to step in to prohibit fatigued driving.
19. No Fault.  To balance the parent override, the contract should also state that driving privileges will not be suspended for accidents where the teen driver is not at fault.  If the teen is stopped at a light and rear-ended, or her car is dented while parked, no consequence should occur.  The TDC should say so.
20. Technology.  If you, as a parent, can afford to install one of the evolving technologies for tracking teen drivers, write this into the contract and make it clear that data from that device can result in a suspension.  For example, one device measures the speed of the car and sends the parent an e-mail report if a certain speed is exceeded.  State that a report showing speeding will result in a suspension.
21. Mediator.  As with any contract, disputes may arise about how to interpret some provision, or when a suspension is warranted.  Parties to legal contracts use mediators, arbitrators, or judges, so why not a TDC?  Identify a third party, with some objectivity and neutrality, whose advice you will seek if there is a disagreement.  This is a good opportunity for the parent to let the teen take the lead; try hard to go with your teen’s recommendation.
22. Where?  Keep one copy of the signed contract in the car, one with each person who signed it, and one with your mediator.
23. Already Licensed?  Can a TDC be negotiated with a teen who is already licensed and driving?  Absolutely.  A violation or crash will provide an opening for a parent to insist on one as a condition of further driving, but the best advice is to not delay putting a TDC in place for every teen driver.

Next up:  a model TDC.

This post begins a multi-part series on teen driving contracts.  Part 1 introduces the subject, surveys the Internet resources, and explains why, after conducting this research, I am suggesting an improvement to the versions currently available.  Part 2 will be titled “How to Negotiate and Sign a Contract,” and Part 3 will be my new model, with instructions, to be posted as a free Word document.  In Part 4, I will comment on several of the most difficult issues that arise with these contracts.  All posts will be online by the end of December 2009.

1.  A “Better” Contract?  I confess to a degree of boldness in claiming that the model contract I am proposing is an improvement on what is currently found on the Internet.  However, I bring to the drafting task a comprehensive review of the information online; identification, based on an on-going review of the latest research, of contract provisions and instructions that are outdated or incorrect; twenty-seven years of experience as an attorney with drafting and reviewing contracts; and the conviction that a bereaved parent is well-situated to convey the message about the need for these contracts.

2.  What Is A Teen Driving Contract?  For brevity, I will abbreviate our subject to “TDC.”  A TDC is a written, signed agreement between a licensed driver under the age of 18 and his or her parent(s) or guardian(s) that acknowledges the risks and dangers of driving, states clear rules for the teen driver’s conduct for a defined time period after the teen is first licensed, and establishes consequences for a violation of those rules.  Thus, the purposes of a TDC are to recognize that bad driving can result in injury, death, and property damage; to acknowledge that, in general, parents remain legally and financially responsible for the consequences of their teen’s driving; and to ensure that parents and teens to have a detailed, calm, and candid talks (or a series of them) about when and how permission to drive will be granted and the consequences of misconduct before a teen gets behind the wheel – instead of after a crash or violation.

3.  What A TDC Is Not:

• a legally-binding contract that a parent / guardian or teen may enforce in court; 
• a substitute for on-the-road driver training; 
• a reason to allow or a means to push a teen who is not yet ready to drive safely; 
• a basis for a parent or guardian to be less vigilant; or 
• a defense against liability if the parent is sued.

It is important to understand that a TDC is not a legal document, but what is known as a “memo of understanding” or “term sheet.”  By no means does this distinction detract from the importance of entering into (what we can still call) a contract, but everyone should understand what the agreement is and isn’t.

4.  What’s Available On The Internet?  Online, you will find, most prominently, Allstate Insurance’s contract, www.allstateteendriver.com.  Let’s give credit where it is due:  Allstate has pioneered parent-teen contracts and through its national advertising campaign, including full-page ads in major newspapers, promoted them heavily.  In addition, most of the major insurance companies have their own versions, as does nearly every state motor vehicle department website.  There are several “.com” websites that sell model parent-teen contracts for about $20 per download, with driving agreements being among dozens of subjects available.  (Why any parent would pay for one of these contracts is unclear to me; plenty of free ones available.)  Finally, a variety of driving instructors, psychologists, and health care professionals have posted their own versions.

5.  Areas For Improvement In TDCs Currently Available Online.  As prefaced above, I have concluded that we can improve upon most of the agreements now online because of the following characteristics:

• “bare bones” contracts that don’t acknowledge or address a variety of substantial risks and dangers of teen driving; 
• contracts that do not reflect the most recent research about how the brains of teens underappreciate risk, or the huge dangers of texting and electronic devices; 
• agreements that try to sound like legally-binding contracts but instead sow confusion (”The party of the first part, hereinafter called the “Teen Driver” . . .); 
• contracts that come with pages of upfront instructions, categories of violations, and “special” notes; 
• agreements with unclear or vague consequences (”If I do x-y-z, I may lose my license . . .”); 
• agreements without a defined timeframe (one year, for example), or that schedule a renegotiation only weeks after signing; 
• provisions that are simply contrary to the published research, such as those that only prohibit passengers “at night” – while numerous studies show that passengers increase risks at any hour of the day, and the most unsafe hour of the day is immediately after school lets out; 
• agreements that cover non-driving-related subjects, such as homework, grades, allowance, “life responsibilities,” household chores, parental respect, firearms, lending the car to another driver, etc.; and 
• contracts that are, in reality, advertising, such as insurance company offerings that are a “free public service” but just happen to mention their discounts for good drivers.

6.  Two Critical Problems With National Model Contracts.  Up front, we need to acknowledge the difficulties inherent in every model TDC, including my forthcoming one, that is offered nationally.  First, a TDC should not vary from state law, and every state is different.  Each state’s rules are minimum standards, and thus TDCs must be consistent with them.  For example, if state law imposes an 11 PM curfew for drivers under age 18, your contract cannot make it 10:30 PM.  (Thus, one benefit of negotiating a TDC is that parent and teen must learn what state law requires.)

Second, obviously, every family and every teen face different circumstances.  If parents are divorced, or a guardian is in charge of the teen’s conduct, the negotiation may be more difficult than if two parents are present, informed, and fully engaged by the process.  If the teen has a job that requires driving, this reality will need to be accommodated.  Rules and exceptions also will vary for rural, suburban, and urban areas, and based on family financial circumstances.

But these problems pale when compared to injury or death resulting from an automobile accident.

Teen driving, of course, is not a laughing matter but deadly serious business.  Still, when someone uses humor in way that makes several critical points in memorable fashion, we cannot ignore it.  Thus, for parents who want to laugh while also considering what kind of example they are setting for their teen drivers, I highly recommend the You Tube link below, a Saturday Night Live skit that was broadcast November 7, 2009.  When you stop laughing, make some notes about your own driving.

First, thanks to so many of you who have contacted me through this blog.  Among recent messages was this:

If you had asked me last week what type of job my wife and I are doing to protect our teenage drivers, I would have said, so far, better than most.  Ask me the same question today after reading your blog, and I would say:  not nearly enough.

Thank you.  That’s why I’m doing this.

Some of your e-mails have presented difficult but common situations, and asked for advice.  I will take the liberty on occasion (without attribution, of course) of relaying these inquiries and my responses.

A mother, divorced for several years from the father of her newly-licensed 16-year-old daughter, asked what she should do now that her ex-husband has bought the daughter a car.  These parents live in the same region – close enough for their daughter to commute between their homes by car – and are in regular communication, but the father apparently did not ask for the mother’s consent before buying this car.  I assume that the father’s thinking was that a car will better enable the daughter to spend time with each parent.

I offered the mother two pieces of advice.  The first, even though the car has already been purchased, was to bring to her ex-husband’s attention the recent State Farm / Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia study, linked in my recent post “A Different Top Ten List,” showing that teen drivers with their own cars have higher crash rates than those who depend on shared cars.  Second, I suggested that the mother download a parent-teen driving contract and that all three of them discuss it, agree on it, and sign it ASAP.  (Parent-teen contracts will be the subject of my next post.)

This mother describes a situation that obviously adds to the complications of divorce.  The car purchase may well force the daughter into more driving than she is ready to handle.  Though her driving between each parent’s home might be considered “purposeful” in the sense that she will have a clear destination, route, and arrival time, and thus might be considered less risky than a joy ride, will she be driving under stress?  Could shuttling between parents constitute distracted driving?  Also, one parent surprising the other who has custody by buying a car for their new teen driver raises a question about which parent is overseeing driving privileges and safety.  Finally, it would seem that in this situation, the purchase of the car might be characterized as at least one parent putting convenience ahead of safety.

Overall, this family’s circumstances calls for even greater caution and conversation, with decisions about the daughter’s driving to be made day-by-day and on a case-by-case basis.

[for additional information about the STANDUP Act, go to www.saferoads4teens.org]

November   , 2009

The Hon. Christopher J. Dodd

United States Senate

448 Russell Building

Washington, DC 20510

Re:  H.R. 1895, The Safe Teen Driving and Novice Driver Uniform Protection (”STANDUP”) Act

Dear Senator Dodd:

I write to join thousands of parents and auto safety experts in urging you to re-introduce in the U.S. Senate the STANDUP Act, to use federal financial incentives and sanctions to prod states to adopt minimum national standards for their safe teen driving laws.

I write from searing personal experience and a two year odyssey of education about teen driving.  My son Reid, 17 years old, died in a one-car accident on Interstate 84 in Plainville, Connecticut in December 2006.  In December 2007, Governor Rell appointed me as a bereaved parent to Connecticut’s Teen Safe Driving Task Force, which she formed in the aftermath of several horrific teen driver and passenger fatalities.  The Task Force was charged with thoroughly reviewing Connecticut’s graduated driver laws (”GDLs”).   Serving on that Task Force, I immersed myself in the facts of teen driving and learned what the mainstream literature available to parents barely discloses:  that driving is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for people under age 20, far surpassing suicide, disease, and other types of accidents;  teens have crash rates three times that of older drivers;  strict GDLs (supplemented by public education and enforcement) are a proven, effective way to reduce teen driver crashes and fatalities; and yet, across the nation, teen driver laws vary widely, with many states dragging their feet even while voluminous research points clearly toward the benefits of stricter teen driving laws.

Connecticut’s Task Force, I am proud to say, helped transform our state’s teen driver laws, previously among the weakest in the country, into one of the strongest.  A state-sponsored public awareness campaign followed our new law’s August 2008 effective date, and 2009 is now shaping up to be the safest year ever for our state’s teen drivers.  The STANDUP Act will induce every state to follow this lead, to amend its GDLs to reflect the significantly higher crash rates of new, young drivers.

My immersion in teen driving during 2007-08 led me in October 2009 to launch a new national blog for parents of teen drivers, entitled “From Reid’s Dad,” found at www.fromreidsdad.org.  My goal is to provide parents with better information about teen driving than appears in most of the information available from motor vehicle departments and commercial driving schools.  In trying to raise the information level nationally for parents, my blog is consistent with the goals of the STANDUP Act. In the blog’s first two weeks the enthusiastic, national response has further convinced me that the time is right for comprehensive, national GDL standards.

The federal government should be a strong partner with the states when it comes to saving lives and preventing injuries, and teen driving laws present an appropriate situation for federal intervention:  a documented public health and safety crisis; a proven, low-cost solution; an enforcement mechanism through federal highway funds; and a track record of successful similar interventions (seat belts, drunk-driving laws, and child safety seats).  The current patchwork of, and variations within, state teen driving laws is public policy madness that the federal government has the power and ample reasons to rectify.

Federal involvement invariably generates complaints in certain communities about states’ rights, unfunded federal mandates, and infringements on individual freedoms.  Recently, a City Councilman in Cheyenne, Wyoming, arguing against that City’s ban on use of a hand-held cell phone while driving, was quoted as saying, “If I’m driving down the road, minding my own business and talking on my cell phone, leave me alone.”  The fallacy in this statement is its assumption that a driver engaged in conduct that is demonstrably dangerous is “minding his own business.”  Teen driver crashes affect everyone and should therefore be the concern of every driver throughout the nation on every road, every day.

The U.S. Senate needs to join the House and provide leadership on this issue.  Too many lives are at stake.  As a constituent of yours for 25 years, as a bereaved parent, and as a concerned driver and citizen, I urge you to be an energetic, articulate, common sense voice for this essential legislation.  Thank you.

Very truly yours,

Timothy S. Hollister

I launched this blog to provide a perspective that differs from the mainstream literature on teen driving published by motor vehicle departments, driving schools, journalists, and even safety advocates.  A recent article posted on www.Edmunds.com, the car buying website, gives me an opportunity to demonstrate this difference.

I will apologize in advance to Scott Memmer for taking issue with his article, “10 Tips for Keeping Your Teen Driver Safe”.  To their credit, Memmer and his self-described “automotive journalist” colleagues at Edmunds.com confessed at the beginning of their recent, multi-part Teen Driver Safety Series that they are “human beings who love the smell of cars, the look of cars, the idea of cars . . .”, even as they felt compelled to address teen driving because “no automotive-related topic is more pressing or urgent.”  I compliment them for revealing their predispositions and, indeed, the car-loving attitude they bring to their top ten list for parents of teen drivers is consistent with mainstream American advertising:  Cars are sold in ads that glorify speed and showcase risky driving that never results in a scratch or dent much less a crash, while the cautionary words “Professional driver, closed course, do not attempt” are relegated to tiny print at the bottom of the screen.

Here are Edmunds.com’s top ten ways to keep your teen drivers safe (I paraphrase; for the full explanation, see the link above):

1. Pay for extra driver training because driver’s ed is “absolutely deplorable.”
2. Spend lots of time with your teen during the learner’s permit phase, even if it’s tense for you. 
3. Talk to your teen about safety as you supervise the driving lesson. 
4. Don’t yell at your driver until you get home. 
5. Review the driving session after it’s over. 
6. Keep track of your teen’s passengers. 
7. Remind your teen of safety risks. 
8. Choose a safe car (discussed in Part Four of the Edmunds.com series). 
9. Ride with your teen periodically after licensing to ensure safe driving habits. 
10. Have your teen share insurance and other costs.

Well, with all due respect to the automotive professional author, I disagree with the premise of this list and several specifics.  The underlying assumption is that teens must and will be allowed to drive when and where they want, and a parent’s job is to counsel them how to do it safely.  Except for No. 7, this list does not focus on parent decision-making about whether teens should drive at all, or how parents can control and avoid the specific situation that pose the greatest risks for teens.

I disagree specifically with:

Nos. 1 and 2.  See my post, “There Is No Such Thing As A Safe Teen Driver.”  No amount of training can make him or her a safe driver.

 

No. 6.  Keeping track of your teen’s passengers is far too mild a warning; newly-licensed drivers with passengers other than a supervising driver are a documented risk.

 

No. 8.  The assumption is that teens should have their own cars, yet a recent study by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, funded by State Farm Insurance and reported by MSNBC.com, shows that one in four serious teen driver crashes involves a teen who is the primary driver of that car.  The study concludes that “Giving in to teens’ demands for their own cars can have dangerous consequences.”

 

No. 9.  This strikes me as unrealistic.  A teen driver with a parent in the passenger seat will drive cautiously, showing off knowledge of safe driving practices.  Perhaps a parent will pick up on subtle errors, but I doubt that a teen who at other times drives recklessly will do so when Mom, Dad, or a guardian is sitting in the front passenger seat.

But the biggest problem with the Edmunds.com list is what’s missing:  well-informed, day-by-day, conservative parental decision-making about whether the teen driver should get behind the wheel in the first place.  Thus, my Top Ten list for parents:

1. Recognize that all teen drivers are at risk, and be sure that the facts that underlie this reality inform every decision you make as a parent. 
2. Educate yourself not just about your state’s teen driving laws, but about the specific dangers of teen driving. 
3. Don’t force a teen to obtain a driver’s license for your convenience, and don’t allow a teen who is not ready to drive safely to become licensed. 
4. Before your teen is licensed, negotiate and sign a parent-teen driver contract. 
5. If within your financial means, enroll your teen in a hazardous-driving situation school, known sometimes as a “high performance class” or more colloquially, a “skid school.” 
6. Be sure to train your teens thoroughly in bad weather and night driving before allowing them to drive in those conditions.  Driver’s ed in the daytime in the summer followed by unrestricted driving at night or in snow or ice is not adequate training. 
7. Pay close attention to the difference between purposeful and recreational driving and either forbid or put strict limits on any driving that might fall into the latter category. 
8. Look into the technology that is increasingly available and affordable to monitor your teen’s driving:  GPS systems, email alerts if the vehicle exceeds a certain speed, devices that disable cell phones when the car is in gear [all future post topics], etc.  If you sense that your teen needs this type of oversight and you can afford it, buy it. 
9. If your teen receives a ticket or a license suspension, or is required to undergo retraining, don’t fight it, don’t ask for a continuance of a court date, don’t delay.  Let the medicine be administered as soon as possible. 
10. Never put your convenience or saving on the cost of gasoline ahead of safety.

Different, huh?

Again, I respect the views of automobile journalists and others whose profession involves the automobile, but parenting teen drivers begins with informed, conservative consideration of when, where, and under what conditions teens should be permitted to drive in the first place. Good vehicle operation skills are simply not enough, and they are certainly not the place to start a list of things that parents can do to keep their teen drivers safe.

Let me say first that in this post, when I refer to “driver’s ed,” I am referring to all types of teen driver training and education, whether provided by parents, other licensed drivers, high schools, or commercial driving schools.

Parents who delve into the voluminous research about what is and is not effective in reducing crash rates among teen drivers will find this very confusing conclusion:  there is no statistical evidence showing that driver education reduces crash rates among teen drivers.  Federal highway safety agencies, state motor vehicle departments, insurance company associations, and university transportation institutes that have researched this issue have all reached the same conclusion.

So, does this research mean that parents are wasting their money, and teens are wasting their time, when they enroll in driver’s ed to learn how to operate a car safely?  The answer is certainly no – but embedded in this seemingly contradictory answer is a critical reality about safe teen driving and, in fact, one of the central points of this blog.

Obviously, teens need to learn the rules of the road, how to operate a car safely, and how to drive defensively.  Without question, the more hours they spend behind the wheel receiving supervised training, the better drivers they will be when they begin driving solo.  The research and the data absolutely do not imply that we should not train teen drivers thoroughly before licensing them.

The problem is that no amount of driver education can overcome the three reasons why “There Is No Such Thing As A Safe Teen Driver” (see my September 15, 2009 post with this title).  First, biologically, the brains of teenagers have not developed to the point where they fully appreciate risk and danger.  Second, not even hundreds of hours of driver training can provide teen drivers with the judgment necessary to anticipate and avoid unsafe situations (and, across the United States, the typical driver training hours required for licensure ranges from approximately 20 to 100).  Driving judgment takes years.  Third, we train drivers in our local towns and neighborhoods but when they are licensed, they routinely drive on roads they have never driven before, so that they are learning to drive while trying to follow directions – a skill that can confound the most experienced adult driver.

Thus, driver’s ed does not reduce crash rates because it does not and cannot overcome the principal reasons that teens have higher crash rates.  Driver’s ed makes teen driving safer, but not safe.  Driver training somewhat reduces the risks of teen driving (though research has been unable to quantify the benefit), but by no means does it reduce them to a level that parents can rely on as guaranteeing safety.

The research demonstrating a lack of correlation between driver’s education and reduced teen driver crash rates does not mean that commercial driving schools and other driver’s education programs are unnecessary.  The data, however, provide the clear lesson that parents should not assume that a teen who has taken driver’s ed, passed with flying colors, and will now be a law-abiding driver will arrive safe and sound at each future destination.