Does Your Teen Know More About Driving Laws Than You Do?

Teaching your teenager about driving carefully is critical for the safety of all Kentucky motorists. Our law firm’s previous blog post focused on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recommendation for parents to spend a week talking with their children about various aspects of road safety. But do you know the rules of the road as well as you think you do? Take this short quiz from AAA and find out.

The reason that Kentucky parents should take the test is simple. Driving regulations have changed over the years, and it is unlikely that most people spend their time reviewing their state’s latest DMV manual to learn about the new recommendations.

For example, do you know the recommended hand position on the steering wheel today? It’s not 10 and 2 o’clock anymore. But take the quiz and you’ll find out.

Here’s the truth: Driver’s education classes are simply not enough. Car accidents remain the leading cause of death of teenagers today.

Young drivers encounter too many distractions in the car, not to mention that they are novices when it comes to the most basic rules of good driving.  Talking on the phone, texting or something as simple as getting immersed in conversations with young passengers can raise the risk of a serious accident significantly when teenagers are behind the wheel. The problem has become so severe that the U.S. Department of Transportation created a website to educate the public about the dangers of distracted driving.

Many states, including Kentucky, have graduated driver’s licensing (GDL) programs that require new drivers to spend extra time behind the wheel after earning their learner’s permit. In Kentucky, the GDL intermediary phase is six months, and teens are subject to two restrictions.

1. No driving from midnight to 6 a.m.
2. No more than one unrelated passenger in the car under the age of 20.

All of the information, public service campaigns and current laws are important ways that states are addressing the problems of deadly car accidents among teens. But the best source of knowledge for teen drivers comes from their parents.

According to a recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, parents can follow two best practices to help their teen drivers become responsible motorists:

1. Make sure teens drive enough and in a variety of road conditions while they have their learner’s permits.
2. Share their own experiences (including driving mistakes) with their children. According to the AAA Foundation, this is something that parents don’t tend to do while their kids are in the learning stage.

As personal injury attorneys, we see the pain and suffering our clients face when someone has been injured in a car wreck or a loved one has lost their life. It’s our job to help them use the legal system to right the wrongs caused by another person’s recklessness. We also have another important job, and that is to use our experience and knowledge to raise awareness in our own communities.

Parents, brush up your driving knowledge. Then, work with your children so that they become responsible drivers too.