If a youngster has a driver’s license, that means independence and an open road attraction. But there are many new settings and prospective challenges with this new independence that most adolescents have never experienced before. It is a good idea to review the scenarios with your family’s new drivers and talk about how to manage them before they really occur.

What to do if a police officer stops you: Pull the road safely, turn your car off, roll the window down and make the hands visible. Do not move or dispute suddenly with the police. Do your arguments in the court of traffic. Stay away from freeway bottlenecks. Pay attention to the flow of traffic the next time you’re driving down the interstate. Unless it’s rush hour, you’ll notice that most drivers travel in groups. These packs, or bottlenecks, are a formula for catastrophe, especially for inexperienced drivers. People are tailgating, weaving in and out of lanes, and jockeying for position. One of the greatest methods to prevent a collision on an Interstate is to avoid these bottlenecks at all costs, even if it means briefly slowing down to let other cars pass.

On a curve, avoid changing lanes. Experienced drivers do it without a second thought. However, changing lanes might be difficult for a beginner driver. They must not only keep inside the lines of the road, check their rearview mirror and side view mirrors, but they must also look over their shoulder to ensure the neighboring lane is clean. Add to that the challenge of performing all of that while keeping the car on the road on a tight curve, and it may be a lot for a rookie driver to keep track of. To avoid adding another potentially risky aspect while changing lanes, rookie drivers should avoid changing lanes on a curve until they have gained some driving experience. Before approaching an intersection, look both ways. Young drivers are trained to obey traffic laws. And, in most cases, that is exactly what they do. They proceed when the light turns green or when the arrow appears. They are frequently so preoccupied with their own driving that they pay little attention to the drivers around them.However, the terrible fact is that not everyone abides by the laws of the road. In order to save a few minutes on their trip, some drivers make the split-second choice to try to beat the red light — frequently at the expense of other cars. Each year, these drivers are responsible for about 800 deaths and an estimated 200,000 injuries in the United States. In fact, crossroads account for 40% of all collisions in the United States. To avoid an accident, young drivers should be taught defensive driving skills such as scanning for possible dangers and looking both ways before entering a junction, even if they have the right of way. Even a few seconds of forewarning might be enough to prevent a major disaster.

It’s been said that attitude is everything. When it comes to driving, though, it can be the difference between life and death for our teenagers. Teens can be seriously injured if they have a bad attitude, become angry with other drivers, become angry with slow or old drivers, or become overly anxious to get to their destination a few minutes sooner. Teach your teen to maintain a positive attitude behind the wheel of an automobile. There will always be that one motorist who cuts you off, pulls out in front of you, tailgates you, blocks the intersection, or honks at you because they believe you are not driving quickly enough. Deal with it and go on… reacting is never worth it.