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How Parents Can Help Teen Drivers

Posted: 11/12/2010

Experts say parental involvement is critical in developing safe and prepared teen drivers.

(NAPSI) - There’s good news for parents of teens who are about to get behind the wheel. Because experts agree that parents can have a tremendous impact on the safety of their teen drivers, AAA has created a new website to help parents get involved in their teen’s driver education and training.

TeenDriving.AAA.com is designed to be easy to use and provides users with specific information based on where they live and where their child is in the learning process—from preparing to drive (pre-permit) through the learner’s permit and solo driving.

Plus, it can help eliminate confusion and guesswork, with everything parents need to know in one place.

“Parental involvement is critical in developing safe and prepared teen drivers,” said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. “AAA recognizes the learning-to-drive process can be intimidating, particularly for today’s busy families. TeenDriving.AAA.com is a unique and comprehensive teen driver safety website that simplifies the process by offering parents the tools and resources they need as they progress through each stage of the process. This makes what can be a daunting task for parents and teens much easier to manage.”

Featured on the site is Start- Smart, a series of online newsletters and webisodes based on the National Institutes of Health’s Checkpoints program, which has been scientifically shown to help parents improve teen driver safety and is being offered nationally for the first time. Some of the topics covered in these 18 newsletters and webisodes include:

• Nighttime driving;

• Distracted driving;

• Alcohol and other drugs; and

• Developing parent-teen driving agreements.

The site also offers an online version of the Dare to Prepare workshop and lessons from the motor club’s Teaching Your Teen to Drive coaching program, both of which assist both young people learning to drive as well as their parents.

Parents can also find information about their state’s graduated driver licensing (GDL) system, how to select a driving school and finding the right vehicle for their teens. Parents will also learn how to better prepare their teen for common risks and about driving in adverse conditions.

In a recent study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, only 25 percent of teens practiced under a variety of conditions, including bad weather and nighttime driving.

For more information, visit TeenDriving.AAA.com. And for additional safety tips and for information on other AAA services, visit AAA.com.

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