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Practice, Practice, Practice

It's important that you and your teen make time to practice as much as possible – even after your teen gets their license. Studies show that crash rates for teen drivers remain above adult rates for the first 1,000 hours of behind-the-wheel experience. That’s more time than it takes for an adult to become a journeyman electrician. Would you expect a teen with only 50 hours of experience with electricity to do electrical work in your home? Then you should not expect your teen to be a smart driver after practicing the minimum time required to get their license. Here are some practice tips to keep in mind:

• Practice with only you and your teen in the vehicle to avoid distraction and keep stress low
• Remain calm and focused – and expect some mistakes
• Practice in different situations – starting with daylight hours and good weather
• Practice in low-risk areas such as parking lots, parks, and quiet streets – in low traffic

When is your teen really ready to receive his or her license? When they have met all of the requirements of your state laws and you believe they are competent to drive. You can only make that judgment after many hours of practice – driving in a variety of different situations, on different roads and during different times of the day. And remember – practicing doesn’t stop after licensing.

Learn more about what to practice with your teen.