Learn how parents can help teens survive the risk of being new drivers. There's a reason new drivers struggle with more tickets and accidents than other motorists, and it's largely because inexperience = less skill. Being aware of risk factors, and knowing the profile of typical teen-driver accidents, can help you and your child beat the odds. From PEMCO Insurance.

1. How to Avoid Trouble
On the Road

2. Unsettling facts for parents:
• Car crash injuries are by far the leading
public health problem for teenagers.
• More teenage passenger deaths occur with
a 16-year-old driving than with a driver of
any other age.
Q: What’s the silver lining?
A: You can make a difference.

3. You’ll learn …
• Why teenagers will always drive the way
teenagers have always driven.
• What the typical serious accident looks like for a
16- or 17-year-old driver.
• What can be done to beat the odds, and how
parents can help.
• Why being a passenger is more dangerous than
being a driver.
• What 18-year-olds will tell you about driving if
you ask them.

4. The challenge of teen driving
Inexperience = little skill

5. What is it about teenagers?
• They’re more willing to take risks
• More independent, contrary, defiant
• More likely to overestimate their abilities
(physically, they’re at their peak)
• More likely to underestimate the danger
• Less skilled to cope with the danger
• Emotions overwhelm education

6. High risk of accidents on prom night.
• teens more likely to drink (1/3 of alcohol-
related deaths occur at prom, graduation)
• nerves and excitement
• uncomfortable clothes, distractions
Win-win solution for you and teens:
chip in and rent a limousine.

7. A typical serious accident
for 16- & 17-year-olds
• One-car accident
• Caused by speed or inattention
• Hitting a pole or tree
• At night
• Smaller cars, older cars
• Usually no alcohol

8. Key accident factors
• Teenage passengers
• Late at night
• Two-lane road
• Distractions in car—music, cell phone, etc.
• No seatbelt
The more of those you can avoid, the better your odds.

9. Contributing factors to teen
at-fault crashes
• Didn’t detect other car or traffic signal
• Lost control of car, in general
• Slippery road
• Misjudged following distance
The more of those you can avoid, the better your odds.

10. How to beat the odds,
and how parents can help
• Comply with the graduated licensing law.
• Use the same concept for introducing other
hazards and distractions—driving after dark,
with music, on rural or unfamiliar roads,
with food, etc. (set your own ‘house rules’)
• Use what works for you—rewards, punishment,
contracts, etc.
• Stay involved after they have their license.

11. “No law or rule can substitute for good
parental oversight, any time of year.”
– Bob Calkins, Washington State Patrol
www.iihs.org

12. Why being a passenger is more
dangerous than being a driver
• Because you aren’t driving.
• You have no control over the car. You’re
now at the mercy of another beginner or
novice driver.

13. How to be a better passenger
• Don’t ride with someone a second time if you
didn’t like the way he or she drove the first time.
• Wear a seat belt, even if no one else will.
• Let the driver concentrate. Don’t encourage
speed, loud music, throwing objects, etc.
• Avoid alcohol, even as a passenger. It increases
rowdiness and distractions.

14. What 18-year-olds will tell you about
driving if you ask them
• Buy a gutless car — when my van died, my parents bought
me a small car with a 4-cylinder engine. Smart move on
their part.
• Driving class ‘scares you straight’ and teaches you to pass
the written test, but you learn to drive during your time with
your parents — that’s where you get comfortable, develop
muscle memory, etc.
• Advice to parents — don’t lay down black and white rules.
It turns off communication. Talk about options if you do get
in trouble. What can you say to your friends to defuse the
situation? Who can you call? What will happen if you do?

15. Want to learn more?
That’s just a tiny sample of our full presentation.
To learn more, schedule a speaker from PEMCO
to come speak to your class or PTSA.
We can accommodate most requests in the Puget
Sound area, and some requests statewide.
Contact: jonosterberg@pemco.com

16. The most important piece of
safety equipment in any vehicle
is the one behind the wheel.