Before signing, sit down together, read each item together, and discuss.
Occasionally ask questions. Ex: “What does the contract say about curfew?”
A Model Contract: Parenting the Teen Driver
Dale Wisely, Ph.D. www.parentingteendrivers.com
The text of this website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/). Businesses, organizations, news media, print and web publishers are asked to contact Dale Wisely at dalewisely@gmail.com for permission prior to using this material. It may be used for by individuals and families without permission. You may remove Dale Wisely’s name, above, on copies provided to your teenager, but leave the name and website visible when sharing this contract with other parents. Better to provide the website name to friends, as the contract is frequently revised.
Why do a driving contract?
Ø If your child dies during the teenage years, the most likely cause will be an auto accident.
Ø Your teenage driver is in danger of killing or injuring himself or herself or other innocent people.
Ø If you don't do a contract, you will likely be vague in your rules and directions about driving.
Ø If you don’t do a contract, you can count on a lot of subsequent arguments based on “I thought you said…or “I thought you meant…”
Ø The contract signals the teenager that driving is a serious and potentially deadly activity.
Establish with the teenager, in advance, your firm insistence on a written agreement. You must be willing to state (and mean) that you will not allow the teen to drive independently until an agreement is reached, signed and followed. If possible, if two parents are involved, parents should reach an agreement about the contract before it discussed with the teenager.
Use this contract as a model. Feel free to edit it and personalize it to your situation.
Sign it and provide a copy to the teenager. DO NOT ALLOW A TEENAGER TO DRIVE INDEPENDENTLY UNTIL THE AGREEMENT IS NEGOTIATED,
WRITTEN, REVISED, AND SIGNED! DON'T LET YOUR TEEN DRIVE WITHOUT AN AGREEMENT.
Set a date to revise it after a period of time during which the teen drives. Schedule the review date and put it on the calendar. On this review date, go through it and change the agreement a little (or a lot) based on experience. Make it stricter if the teen's behavior with the car warrants that. Make it a bit more lenient, perhaps, if the teen is doing well. START WITH A FAIRLY STRICT CONTRACT.
Your Local Laws. More states continue to pass tougher laws regarding teen driving. Many states now have graduated drivers license laws, which place restrictions on new/younger drivers. Research your state’s laws and make sure this contract is consistent with local laws. The contract will be MORE restrictive than your local laws but you want to make sure that it’s not LESS restrictive than your local laws. Check, in particular, what your local laws say about young drivers and (1) CURFEW, (2) the NUMBER OF PASSENGERS allowed a teen driver and (3) use of handheld devices while driving.
Consequences. This contract establishes only one consequence for violations of the contract: Suspension of independent driving privileges. Over the years, I have removed most language involving recommending specific lengths of time because each individual situation is so different. The only difference between Category A and Category B rules is that parents may choose to give a warning for the first violation of Category B rules. Category A rules call for immediate suspension independent driving privileges.
Alcohol and drug use. While the contract has the young driver acknowledging that underage drinking is illegal, it also includes a statement that if the young person drinks, he or she will not drive for 24 hours. Some parents read this as permission to drink. It is, rather, an acknowledgment that people break laws and do reckless things.
Limits on passengers. This is an essential rule. There is a very direct relationship between the number of passengers in the car with a teenage driver, and the likelihood of an accident. It also, of course, increases the number of potential deaths or injuries. We highly recommend not exceeding a limit of 1 passenger during the first year of driving.
“Getting it.” Recently, I’ve been thinking about a concern I have about contracts of this type: Teenagers may quickly sign it, without really “learning” the rules. Even if they do learn them, they may forget them. So, I encourage you to think of creative ways to assure that they have really understood and retained the rules. Some suggestions:
Require your child to read the entire contract to you, aloud.
Require your child to sit while you read it to them.