National Teen Driver Safety Week occurs from October 15-21, 2023. Organizations like the National Safety Council (NSC) use the event to promote awareness of safety issues specific to young drivers. The Quad Cities car crash lawyers at Winstein, Kavensky & Cunningham also want to do their part. Below are some valuable safety tips to teach your kids during National Teen Driver Safety Week. By ensuring that the teens in your life understand and absorb this information, you can help ensure that they drive safely for their entire lives.
5 Crucial Teen Driver Safety Week Tips
Here are five safety tips that our Quad Cities injury attorneys have learned from our clients. Many people are surprised to learn that some of the most effective safety tips are also the simplest. Please share this information with the teens in your life to keep them safe.
- The Most Important Driving Rule: many drivers have different priorities for driving. Quickly getting to their destination is the most important thing for some drivers. For others, obeying traffic laws is paramount. Teach your teens that keeping yourself and your passengers safe is the most important rule to follow while driving. In case of a car wreck, you want to be able to help your passengers or others needing assistance.
- Keep Your Eyes on the Road: keeping your eyes on the road is vital to safe driving. This doesn’t mean keeping a focus on what’s directly ahead. Drivers should periodically scan side-to-side and check their mirrors to get a better picture of surrounding road conditions. Keeping your eyes on road conditions is especially important while driving on highways; if you stop paying attention for just under 5 seconds at 55 mph, you’ll have driven the entire length of a football field. Taking your eyes off the road for just a few seconds can lead to a crash that causes catastrophic injuries.
- Distracted Driving Can Be Deadly: one of the fastest-growing causes of car wrecks in the last decade is distracted driving. Many distracted driving crashes are caused by mobile phone use. Teenagers are particularly susceptible to these accidents because many were raised with mobile phones as a big part of their lives. Teach your kids how devastating distracted driving can be so they understand why maintaining focus is essential.
- Keep Both Hands on the Steering Wheel: in addition to observing road conditions at all times, another essential element of safe driving is keeping both hands on the steering wheel at all times. Keeping both hands on the wheel allows for a higher degree of control, which can make all the difference when your teen has to make a split-second move, such as swerving to avoid danger. Even simple actions, like changing lanes or turning, are much easier and safer when done with two hands on the steering wheel.
- Teach By Example: young minds absorb information quickly, and one of the most common ways teens learn is through observation. Teach your teens safe driving habits during Teen Driver Safety Week and throughout the year by exercising them yourself. If you constantly take your eyes off the road to play with your phone or take a hand off the steering wheel to snack, your teens will think these actions are no big deal.
Contact a Quad Cities Car Wreck Lawyer
Winstein, Kavensky & Cunningham hopes you share these National Teen Driver Safety Week tips with your kids. If you don’t have teens, please share this information with family and friends with young drivers in their households. The more teens who exercise safe driving practices, the safer the Quad Cities roads will be for everyone.
Unfortunately, there are times when accidents happen no matter how safe your teens drive. If your teenager has been injured in an accident caused by the actions or inactions of another party, then our Quad Cities injury lawyers can help you get compensation. Reach out to our team today by phone at (309) 794-1515 or connect with us online through LiveChat to explore your legal options and begin your free consultation.
For more than 60 years, Winstein, Kavensky & Cunningham has been successfully serving Quad Cities injury victims. Our attorneys have represented clients in Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Whiteside, and Knox counties in Illinois and Scott, Clinton, Muscatine, Cedar, and Jackson counties in Iowa. Reach out to us today, and you’ll quickly discover why we’re the premiere personal injury law firm in the Quad Cities.