New Driver Challenge Parent Introduction

Now that you've given control to them, how do you fight these tendencies?  The answer is to replace the power you have lost with influence.  In the same way that their friends may try to influence them to break the rules, you need to influence them to abide by them.  And do it with intention, example, and saturation.  The New Driver Challenge gives you everything you need to meet these three necessities.  The Challenge provides an interactive tool you can use to remind them of the importance of the task of safe driving.

Every year, between 2000 and 3000 teens between 16 and 19 die in crashes.   Thousands more sustain life-changing injuries or are responsible for the damages of others.  These statistics show little distinction among any of the groupings.  These numbers make it unreasonable to think the additional effort of a program like this is unnecessary.  To a certain extent, safety in traffic is a numbers game.  There are factors beyond the control of any driver.  Still, many habits drivers can develop significantly tilt the odds in their favor.

A simple internet search for "teens crash fatal" will return pages of recent events nationwide.  Reading the details reveals familiar speed, distraction, and impairment-related causes.  Each of these topics is covered in particular during the license training.  Still, once they are in control without you alongside, they forget. Some young adults, perhaps yours, can be spared because a responsible parent puts forth the effort to keep them engaged in post-license learning.

Dedicated professionals lead your teen's training.  Often, they are already professional teachers with full-time class loads.  They study teaching and traffic safety to give young adults the best instruction possible.  In addition, numerous traffic safety organizations are working to create better teaching tools with new technology. 

Meanwhile, the required hours of training in most states have remained relatively unchanged for decades.  In those same decades, simple two-lane roadways have become a rarity, and multi-lane highways and parkways are the norm.  Average posted limits have increased, and per-capita enforcement has decreased.  Finally, there is a trend toward more aggressive and higher-speed driving.  Traffic casualties are rising at alarming rates across all age groups. So, you and your teens must be reminded of the urgency of intentional risk avoidance. Traffic safety-focused organizations agree that parental engagement after teens get their licenses is critical to keeping them safe.  We have developed this tool to facilitate that engagement.

The strength of the New Driver Challenge is its focus on Risk Neutralization as opposed to crash avoidance or defensive driving. The articles focus on practical ways to assess and avoid risky situations by intentionally developing risk-avoidance habits. We don't want your family to be able to stop in time; we want them to avoid situations that require sudden braking. The difference is subtle, and the resulting competence is amazing.

For your teen, the training they just completed was required to get their license.  They focused more on completing tests than learning the finer details of being an expert safe driver.  The brevity of the training cycle and the naivete accompanying youth leave them more vulnerable than we care to acknowledge.

For these reasons, it’s important for you to continue the training now that they have their license.  As they drive independently, they begin to develop their own styles.  Hopefully, they begin to grasp the enormity of their new responsibility.  At the same time, they are developing habits, and not all are good.  And as they become more comfortable driving independently, they become complacent.   The following is a Facebook post from a local police department in Minnesota.

"13 DAYS...that's how long a 16-year-old had his license before he decided to drive 116 mph with three other juvenile passengers tonight. 

Thankfully, one of our officers was able to stop this vehicle before it turned deadly! 

Please talk to your kids about driving behaviors so we don't have to."

Reading the Challenge articles with your teen will allow you to address the impulses behind high-risk behaviors and the costs that may arise from them.  No child, not even yours, is immune to impulsive behavior that leads to terrible crashes. 

The GAAP Safety New Driver Challenge series focuses on developing great driving habits.  Further, the articles provide objective practices for you and your teen to challenge each other to perfect together.  By the way, doing them together may mean you have to change some of your habits.  Because “do as I say, not as I do” rings hollow with them.

While we wish we could provide a magic wand that would guarantee your teens' absolute safety, we know that the privilege of driving comes with risk.  As you read the articles with them, you’ll see that we focus on a concept called “RISK NEUTRALIZATION.”  Our system is not about avoiding collisions.  Our approach is about avoiding risk.  And if your teen driver can learn to recognize and avoid risk, their safety becomes less a matter of magic and more a matter of control.

GAAP Safety disclaims any liability arising from the materials on this website.  The purpose of this material is to provide guidance and promote conversation on traffic safety for families.  Many factors influence driving safety, and we have no control over how our audience uses our recommended practices or other factors that may contribute to a traffic-related tragedy.

HOW TO USE THESE ARTICLES

The Challenge series articles are intended to be read in three to five minutes each and no more than one on any given day.  Each one explains concepts in safe driving as they relate to the GAAP Safety acronym.

Gentleness

Awareness

Anticipation

Position

While each characteristic described in the acronym is essential, Gentleness is “overarching,” meaning it wraps, guides, and facilitates others. These articles convey a lot of common sense and offer objective methods for applying it in specific practices.   

In the first article, we challenge your new driver to consider places to practice gentleness apart from driving.  Simple things like closing doors gently, stepping lightly, and talking a bit more quietly help develop gentleness as a lifestyle.  It easily translates to the driving task when it's a lifestyle.  If your young adult regularly exhibits angry outbursts with threats and screaming, they probably shouldn't be driving.  Uncontrolled emotions are a known contributor to significant traffic incidents.  Practicing gentleness builds self-control, which is crucial to safe driving.

This series aims to keep your young adult driver thinking about driving safety when they are most likely to be in a collision.  Keeping them reading this material regularly for three to four months will increase the impact.   Three to four thought questions have been written to support multiple readings of each article.  A report page is available when you are logged in to view their responses, and they can view yours. This system provides two-way accountability between you and your young adult.  This puts you and them on a level playing field, opening the door to better communication.  We also recommend that driving privileges be tied to participating in the program.  You need to decide on a reading plan with them and participate equally.  There are several ways to approach the series.  Here are some Ideas

1.   Read the entire series over a period of 20 - 30 days, answering one survey question for each.  Follow this by rereading the whole series and answering a different question.  Continue repeating until all questions have been answered.

2.   Read each article two to four times over the same number of days, answering one survey question each time.

3.   Set a regular time to read and discuss an article together.  

Each article has a link to the question form. Recent answers among all family members can be viewed each time a user logs in. Reading and answering the questions will be helpful, but remember to use the material to generate conversation.  This means that you, as a parent, need to be open and vulnerable to having your teen critique your driving.  We who have been driving for many years tend to be defensive and convinced we are beyond improvement.  We encourage everyone to set defensiveness aside and be open and teachable.

Be ready to encounter some resistance from them.  In their mind, with the license in hand, training is over, and it’s time to party.  If you agree that these concepts are valuable and will increase their safety, then you need to exercise resoluteness in a plan to engage them.  We recommend that you make it clear before they take the license test that participating in this “continuing education” will be part of their driving privilege.  And whatever plan you agree on, be the parent and stick to it!

We also urge you to review and sign the Parent-Teen Driving Agreement linked under "Promises Promises..."  All statements in the agreement are supported by the Challenge articles.  Set a regular time each week to have them re-read it with you.  Young adults participating in the Challenge are reminded to re-read the "Agreement" and respond to thought questions about the content.  Schedule time on the calendar and make these discussions a priority.  This is part of doing everything you can to keep them safe.  You need to understand that every parent who has suffered through a critical teen crash thought they had done everything they could do.  The Challenge series is another tool in your arsenal to mitigate the risks your new driver will encounter as they drive independently.  

Agree with your young adult driver to continue observing their driving after they are licensed.    Avoid voicing criticism while the drive is underway. This prevents the inevitable argument or self-justification that is an automatic response to criticism.  Instead, the observer should note one or two instances of the specific habit.  By the way, it’d be really great if you made more positive observations than negative ones.  The observations should be shared only when the drive is complete or when you're not in traffic, such as in a parking lot.  When it's time to share your observations, treat them as you would a co-worker or someone with whom you have a supportive relationship.  Avoid using accusatory language.  Start the conversation with "I'd like to share a couple of observations with you and see if you agree with me," or something equally respectful.

Resist engaging in an argument.  Accept your teen’s response if they disagree with your critique.  Say that you hope they’ll consider it further.  Let them know that you’re open to discussing again later.  This approach, of course, assumes you are not observing flagrant safety violations that require immediate attention.  In those cases, you must be resolute and not afraid to insist on their agreement.  Never have arguments while the car is in motion!

One final recommendation.  Ensure you know your state's graduated driving privilege rules and enforce them.  You can find the rules for your state here.  Insist that your young adult driver knows and abides by them, both as a driver and as a passenger with their friends!

HOW TO ADDRESS DISAGREEMENTS AND ERRORS.

The granting of a driver's license is a significant step in your teens' transition into adulthood.  With the license, they may expect relaxed supervision and control from you.  These expectations may lead to tense arguments.  In all of these conversations, it’s critical for you to be able to help them understand your intent.  This isn’t easy when the conversation is heated.  You, as the parent, must have a strategy for controlling the thermostat.

The video linked here is an excellent one to watch and consider how to manage difficulties with your young adult driver.  We recommend viewing it multiple times and deciding how you can make your approach to difficult times with them more productive.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM GAAP SAFETY

GAAP Safety was founded to contribute to the efforts underway by numerous private and governmental agencies to reduce the incidence of traffic-related casualties among our precious young adult population.  Our lead author knows personally the debilitating pain of the loss of a child.  It is our corporate mission to reduce these occurrences through this continuing education.  We have specifically developed our resources for use by parents alongside and after their teens' required training.  

We sincerely hope you will use these articles to guide your newly licensed teen to a lifetime of driving safety.  Feel free to write to us at info@gaapsafety.com with your comments and questions.  

Below are buttons to register your family team and/or view a sample of the articles included in the New Driver Challenge.