You may have a gut feeling that the majority of car accidents are caused by human error. What you may not know is the exact figure. Well, research suggests that around 80% of all traffic related accidents come directly from human error. That is why it is so important to teach your children good driving habits.
You may remember what it was like when your teenager was still a toddler, and they copied everything you said and did. This hasn’t changed, not when it comes to driving habits anyway. That is why it is so important that you set the best example possible when sat behind the wheel.
And the sooner you start teaching them the following things, the more it will sink in and become a habit.
Always Keep your Eyes On The Road
We live in a day and age of distraction. In fact, distracted driving in the third largest cause of traffic accidents after drink and tiredness. When you were learning how to drive, there weren’t cell phones. But now they are everywhere. People rely on them; they wake up and look at them and fall asleep using them. Using your phone while driving, though, now that can be an extremely dangerous habit to get into, and it could see a fatal accident occur. As such, you need to lead by example, as well as explain the dangers. That means never using your phone when driving, whether it is to text or call or tweet or whatever. The same goes for other distracted driving habits, like shaving, applying make-up and fiddling with the radio. It all adds to the risk.
Make Sure They Know The Laws
While a lot of driving is about common sense, it is still crucial that your teenage kids know what the laws are in your state. Each state has different driving laws and, as the professionals that work out of the Law Offices of Segal & Segal explained to us, officers of the law are not going to show any leniency for ignorance. If you are able to operate a vehicle, then you are able to spend some time researching what the laws of your state include. These could be standard highway speed limits, driving at certain hours, the legal age of driving, passengers or any number of things. So make sure you know the law and that you are operating within it.
Teach Them About Maintenance
It doesn’t matter where they take their test, the exam focuses on road features like signs, but never focuses on the actual vehicle itself. There is very rarely any instruction or direction on how to properly maintain a vehicle. As such, you should do your best to teach them about oil pressure and fluid levels, tire pressure and tread depth. All of these things can have a huge influence on their safety. It is also explaining how important the manufacturer’s handbook will be when it comes to understanding what the correct pressures and settings are. Should something go wrong, at least they will have some idea of how to find a solution?
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