Every summer, most high schools in the U.S. send forms to parents and guardians that ask for permission for various activities at school.  The forms usually include something like this:

 

_____        _____        I give permission for my child to drive to

  Yes            No           and from school.

 

_____        _____        I give permission for my child to ride to

  Yes            No           school events with other students as drivers.

 

_____        _____        I give permission for my child to drive

  Yes            No           other students to school events.

 

This is usually the total extent of the forms, though sometimes they also ask if the student is authorized to drive a sibling to school, and sometimes they ask the parent / guardian to verify that the car the child will drive is insured.

           

These forms are a multi-part invitation to trouble.  Why?

 

• Statistics repeatedly show that the most dangerous hours for teen drivers are the two hours directly after school lets out;

 

• These “Yes / No” forms, if checked yes, allow your child, with the school’s blessing, to ride as a passenger with a driver unknown to you, and with other students in the car;

 

• These forms rarely make any reference to the state’s teen driving law, such as passenger restrictions;

 

• These forms often give the impression that school events are an exception to teen driver laws; and

 

• These forms not only encourage but authorize a practice that we know is dangerous, teens driving with passengers.

           

Why do schools use these forms?  To save money on transportation and gas, no doubt.  Why do parents agree?  Well, the forms come from the school, so someone must have decided that students driving other students is safe, right?

           

Or perhaps, as I suspect, these are the same forms that have been in use for decades, and no one has thought to change them to reflect better the dangers of teen driving in general and of passengers and after school hours in particular.

           

In fairness, there is one part of the driving authorized by these forms that actually carries a lower risk:  Elsewhere on this blog, I have discussed the difference between “purposeful” and “recreational” driving.  When a teen driver has a destination, a route, a timetable, and a consequence for not arriving safely and on schedule, crash risks are lower.  Most of the types of driving authorized by these forms are, I suppose, purposeful.  But this is the only counterweight to an otherwise dangerous practice of schools asking parents and guardians for blanket permission for teens to drive with other teens as passengers.

           

What should schools and parents do?

 

1. Not allow high school students to drive other students to school events, period.  If transportation is needed, buses should be used or parents / guardians should be the drivers.
2. Barring this complete prohibition, schools can:
   • remind parents on the forms themselves that the state’s passenger rules are (for example, “Our state prohibits teen drivers from carrying non-family passengers for one year after licensing”);
   • identify on the school’s website those students who are permitted by state law to carry passengers;
   • on a case-by-case, event-to-event basis, remind students and parents when their transportation to and from a school event will involve a teen driver;
   • bar any teen who receives a ticket or citation from driving other students (which, of course, requires the teen or parents to notify the school); and
   • have each teen driver sign a school version of a teen driver contract, committing to safe practices such as no electronic devices and a willingness to ask for help if fatigue sets in (which can happen particularly after athletic events).
3. Remind every student who will be a passenger of a student driver of the importance of being a good passenger:  no distractions, use safety belts, and if your driver engages in unsafe driving, get out of the car.

           

Any parent, guardian, or school official who dismisses these ideas as too much work is invited to read the other parts of this blog.