What can Connecticut parents of teen drivers do to help avoid teen car accidents?
2009 studies published in the journal Pediatrics involved more than 5,500 teenagers. The first study showed that teens who said their parents set clear rules, paid attention to where they were going and whom they were with, and did so in a supportive way were: half as likely to crash, twice as likely to wear seat belts, 71 percent less likely to drive while intoxicated and 30 percent less likely to use a cell phone while driving. These findings are compared to teens who said their parents were less involved. The second study found that teens who reported being the main driver of a vehicle were twice as likely to be involved in a crash, compared with teens who said they shared a vehicle with other family members. Nearly 75 percent of the teens surveyed reported being the main driver of a car. As a whole, these studies confirm fewer crashes among teens with supportive parents and clear rules. A parent may avoid unrealistic expectation of their child’s level of understanding of the danger
