If you are a parent of a La Jolla teenager, chances are good that your teen will be attending the prom, graduation celebrations and other end-of-the-school-year events. In fact, spring is a time of heightened danger for younger drivers.
There can be an enormous amount of peer pressure applied to your teen to drink alcohol or do drugs. When you combine those elements with the inexperienced driver behind the wheel, the consequences can be life-altering and tragic. Below is some important information that can help keep teen drivers safer.
Driving is a privilege, not a right
Make sure that your teen understands that they will enjoy the privilege of driving only as long as they behave responsibly. That means no drinking and drugging while driving — or riding with those who do.
Parents can draw up a contract that they and their teenage driver sign stating that mom or dad will come get them anywhere or any time they shouldn’t be driving or feel unsafe. All consequences can be addressed the following morning.
Restrict their passengers
Remember that California has a strict graduated driver licensing (GDL) program which makes it illegal for a 16-year-old driver to pile friends in the car for a joyride. Insist that your teen respects the law and avoids the unnecessary distractions from a carload of kids.
What happens when the worst occurs?
Accidents happen, and they happen frequently to inexperienced drivers. If your son or daughter gets injured in a collision caused by an at-fault driver, you will need to advocate for them both medically and legally to ensure that they heal and that justice is meted out fairly.