To celebrate Teen Driver Safety Week, AAA is launching the StartSmart Online Parent Session that gives parents easy access to useful parenting practices for supervising and managing a teen driver. Through interactive elements and demonstrations, the two-hour program covers everything a parent needs to know, including a discussion about the situations and challenges they will most likely experience during supervised driving practice.
Grounded in principles of adult learning, the StartSmart Online Parent Session helps parents be more effective driving coaches as their teens learn to drive. The program is being offered at a 50 percent discount ($9.95) in support of Teen Driver Safety Week, Oct. 20-26. The new program along with free teen driver education resources can be found at TeenDriving.AAA.com.
“Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all 15-20-year-olds, accounting for the deaths of nearly 2,000 drivers of that age nationwide in 2011. In Washington that same year, 70 people lost their lives in crashes involving 15-20 year-olds,” said Jennifer Cook, senior manager of corporate communications at AAA Washington. “AAA recommends that parents help their teens get ample quality driving practice, beyond the routine trips on familiar roads, to help develop the skills and mindset needed to be safer drivers.”
Parents who share their safe driving wisdom and ensure their teen drivers get sufficient practice in a wide variety of situations are more likely to help their teens develop the necessary skills to be safer drivers, according to part four of a five-plus year study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Building on AAA’s advice of parents spending more time with their teen drivers to give them as much experience as possible before driving solo, these new findings provide evidence as to how parents can most effectively work with their teens. To view the study along with links to parts, one, two and three of the study, visit https://www.aaafoundation.org/improving-parental-supervision-novice-drivers-using-evidence-based-approach.
To encourage parents to share their wisdom with younger drivers, AAA is launching a national contest soliciting the best driving advice that parents wish to impart on teen drivers, along with a chance to challenge their own driving smarts by taking the “Are You Smarter Than Your Teen Driver?” quiz. Parents can submit entries at Contest.TeenDriving.AAA.com from Oct. 21 through Dec. 11 and will be eligible to win prizes including an iPad® mini and VISA® gift cards.
