Learning to drive is an important life skill. Your teen driver will be eager to achieve the independence that comes with being a licensed driver. Inexperience, however, places a teen at a heightened risk of a traffic accident. Prepare your teen for success and safety with these teen driving tips.

 

Emphasize the Dangers of Distracted Driving

Paying attention to traffic is the top priority for every driver. You should work hard to establish good habits for your teen out of the gate. This means setting a good example and never driving distracted yourself.

Top driving distractions for teens are:

 

• Phones
• Food
• Friends

You might feel like you can barely get your teenager to look away from a phone screen in the safety of your home. On the road, teens must avoid mobile devices. Use of mobile devices is a huge safety risk for drivers of any age.

Because teens have yet to master driving skills, they need to focus consistently on the task, and mobile devices greatly interfere with this. According to TeenDriverSource.org, using a phone while driving diverts 37% of brain activity away from the road. Any car accident lawyers Las Vegas can tell you that mobile device distractions contribute to a sizable portion of crashes.

Additionally, hand-held mobile device use is illegal for drivers in Nevada. Fines are authorized. Except for the first offense, citations for mobile device use result in 4 points on a driver’s license.

Surveys of high school students indicate that young people who text while driving are more likely to ignore other safety practices. They tend to forget to wear their seat belts and may drink and drive.

Helping your teen to embrace the importance of focusing on the road will go along way to protecting your son or daughter as well as passengers.

 

Teach Teens to Always Wear Seat Belts

Nevada law requires drivers and passengers to wear their seat belts. When teaching your teen to drive, always have your son or daughter buckle up before doing anything else. This step establishes the habit so that your teen will do it automatically.

Forgetting to buckle up greatly increases the risk of serious injury or death. Top personal injury lawyers Las Vegas often see the toll that such terrible accidents take on victims and their families. Data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 60% of teens who died in motor vehicle accidents were not wearing their seat belts.

 

Explain How Speeding Increases Risk of Fatal Accidents

The freedom of the open road is exciting, and that sensation can thrill new drivers and make them vulnerable to driving too fast. Their youth makes them prone to indulging their impulses, but knowing the dangers of speeding could help them keep their wits about them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2018 speeding contributed to 30% of fatalities among male drivers ages 15 to 20 and 18% of female drivers ages 15 to 20.

High speeds kill because they increase the chance of losing control of a vehicle and worsen the impact of collisions. Speeding in excess of posted limits or what road conditions allow is a negligent action that could make a driver liable for damages inflicted on others. An accident attorney investigating a crash for a client will look for evidence of speeding.

 

Never Drive Intoxicated

Your teen son or daughter knows that driving after drinking alcohol or using drugs is illegal and dangerous. However, teens out having fun with their friends may throw caution to the wind.

Make sure that your teen understands to never drink or use drugs and drive. Tell your teen to always call you if he or she is intoxicated or only has a ride available from an intoxicated driver. Be the safe alternative and promise not to punish your teen for making this correct decision even if he or she has done something wrong to get in that situation.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Nevada has a graduated license program for new drivers. This process requires that teens complete a driver’s education program and practice driving for at least 6 months with adult supervision. The 6-month period of supervised training allows your teen to develop driving skills without the distraction of being with friends. Your guidance also teaches them how to make decisions in traffic.

As a parent or guardian, you have the responsibility to judge whether the 6-month period represented sufficient training. The cognitive and motor skills of teens develop at individual paces. Driving requires substantial eye-hand-foot coordination and the ability to make safe judgments in complex situations in a matter of seconds. If you’re not satisfied with your teen’s skill development, keep practicing. Your teen will dislike your decision to delay getting a license, but it could save lives.

 

Nevada Teen Driving Restrictions

Even after your teen receives a license, Nevada restricts driving privileges for drivers under age 18. They may not drive between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless it is for a school event or work. Police who pull over teen drivers after hours will expect to see documentation proving the existence of the event or job.

Within Las Vegas, teens must observe special driving curfews. In Downtown Las Vegas or on the Las Vegas Strip, teens may only drive until 9 p.m. unless accompanied by an adult. Other places in the city observe the 10 p.m. curfew Sunday through Thursday except on Friday and Saturday when they may drive until midnight.

 

Legal Advice After a Car Accident

Whether your teen was at-fault or not, you may want legal advice after involvement in a motor vehicle accident. The injury lawyers Las Vegas at Moss Berg can interpret insurance benefits and explain your rights if you’ve been hurt by a negligent driver. Contact us today for a free consultation.