Let’s face it; the teenage years can be rough. For teens, the desire to fit in and be independent seems to be at the forefront of their minds. For parents, giving up control and trusting your teenager becomes a daily challenge. However, whether it’s independence or trust, both parties must come together and communicate openly about the many situations a young adult can face.
One of the greatest examples of independence is driving. This “vehicle” allows teens to get out of the house, socialize and explore, independently. It also gives teenagers free reign to see how many friends can be packed into their car at once, how loud the car’s radio can blast and how many conversations or texts can be had on a cell phone. We know our lives are saturated with social media, phone calls and texts, so it isn’t shocking that teens are glued to their smart phones. Unfortunately, this addictive behavior doesn’t motivate teens to unplug from their cell phones while driving.
Distracted Drivers Cause More Car Accidents
As parents what can we do to discourage our teens from picking up the phone to talk or text? Let’s start with using the smart phone as a positive, rather than a negative. We all know that teens like to “buck the system” so why not try a different approach?
- Sit down with your teen and choose a driving safety app Apps can range anywhere from parents being able to monitor their teen‘s driving habits to a hands-free application that provides teen drivers with the ability to do everything with voice commands.
- Create a safe open communication policy in your home. Teens tend to shy away from being candid with their parents – especially if they know that it will cause an argument or result in a punishment. Instead, sit down with your teen and discuss the consequences of distracted driving.
- Do not be afraid to show them the reality of texting while driving. Thousands of young lives have been lost due to distracted driving. Showing your teen real-life pictures, news articles or videos, can put the consequences of distracted driving into perspective.
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The Georgia Governor’s office provides an extensive list of what is considered distracted driving in Georgia. In Georgia, if the driver is under the age of 18 and get pulled over because they were texting and driving, the consequences can range from a substantial fine, points on their licenses and potential insurance penalties. As for adults, set an example for your teen drivers. Actions speak louder than words so stay off of your cell phone while driving. Joining forces with your teen driver to end distracted driving can be the next step to reduce these deadly distracted driving car accidents.
Kaine Law is a personal injury law firm representing injured accident victims in Georgia. With offices in Atlanta, Conyers, Lawrenceville and Stockbridge, Kaine Law’s personal injury attorneys specialize in representing injured motorcycle accident victims, injured car accident victims, injured dog bite victims and injured pedestrian accident victims. Kaine Law represents their injured accident victim clients using a contingency fee agreement which provides that there are no legal fees unless we win.
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