Keeping Your Teen Driver Safe on Colorado’s Roads
Our Denver car accident attorneys have extensive experience handling injury cases. It doesn’t matter if you have a minor scrape or a major collision, we are here for you.
Everyone remembers the thrill of getting their driver’s license—the excitement, the sense of accomplishment, and the newfound feeling of independence. However, with this new chapter comes significant risks. Driving presents many dangers, especially for teens and newly licensed drivers.
Colorado laws already work toward keeping teens safe on the roads through graduated driver’s licenses and stiff penalties for teen drivers caught violating traffic laws. As the parent or guardian of a teen driver, you can help in these efforts to limit car accidents. In doing so, you help keep the roads safe for your children, yourself, and everyone else on the highway.
As Colorado car accident attorneys, we see cases every day in which injuries could have been avoided if teen drivers were better educated or more conscientious. Keep reading to learn how to keep your teen from becoming a statistic and what to do if the worst should occur.
Enroll them in a quality driver’s education class
While parent-child driver’s training is invaluable in many ways, a quality drivers’ education program will provide the formal training and up-to-date information your teen needs to navigate the roads with confidence.
If your teen’s school offers drivers’ education, encourage your teen to sign up. If the school doesn’t provide classes, look into other options. The Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles has several certified schools dedicated to providing the best education to new drivers.
You can share this important milestone with your teen and also help reinforce their learning and prevent car accidents by scheduling regular driving lessons after each driver’s education class. Since the state of Colorado employs a graduated licensing system in which drivers need to have had a learner’s permit for at least 6 months before receiving a driver’s license, you will have plenty of opportunities to help your teen driver hone their new skills.
In addition, in some states, like Texas, teen drivers may be punished for deliberate traffic violations, and their parents can even be legally responsible for paying court fines and court costs if their teens don’t have the financial resources to satisfy the penalty.
These are just a few good reasons why proper driver education is a must for teens.
Emphasize the dangers of distracted driving
Texting, talking on the phone, and even sipping on a soda or munching on some fries can distract your teen and cause a potentially deadly car accident. As the true dangers of distracted driving have come to light over the years, statistics have started to point to the surprising fact that driving distractions on Colorado’s roads may even lead to more traffic fatalities than drinking and driving.
According to a CBS News article, about half of teens in a national survey admitted to sending and receiving text messages behind the wheel, and chances are many more have done so and just weren’t willing to admit their behavior on a survey. Texting while driving is both the most common and most dangerous distraction for teen drivers.
You probably already forbid your teen from using a cell phone behind the wheel, but you should also teach by example. While teen drivers are at a higher risk of car accidents due to distracted driving, adults are hardly immune. Colorado car accident attorneys see plenty of cases where wrecks were caused by adults who felt the need to answer a call while driving or were trying to eat a quick breakfast on the way to work.
Turn off your own cell phone when you get behind the wheel, and make sure your teen sees you do it. If you make a point not to eat, drink, or engage in other distractions while driving, your teen driver will better understand the importance of keeping both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road at all times.
Talk to your teen driver about the consequences of drinking and driving
Driving under the influence is a problem that affects every age group, but teen drivers are even more disadvantaged than adult drivers in these situations. In addition to slowed reaction times, they don’t have the experience and instincts that adults develop after years behind the wheel.
This may explain why, while teens are actually less likely to be involved in drinking and driving car accidents, they’re far more likely to die if such an accident occurs.
Talk to your teen about drinking and driving, and make sure that they know that before they get behind the wheel, they should call you, a sober friend, or a cab to obtain a ride home.
If your teen is involved in a car accident in Colorado, we can help
The reality is that even responsible teen drivers are susceptible to accidents because of their age and inexperience. If the unthinkable happens and your teen becomes the victim of a crash caused by someone else’s negligence, don’t attempt to go through the legal process without assistance.
Call our Colorado car accident attorneys to protect their rights and discuss their case today.
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