Teen Driver Safety Culpeper VA
Obtaining a driver’s license here in Culpeper Virginia is an exciting opportunity for teenagers to become more independent and take on additional responsibility for taking care of a motor vehicle. Having a safe and trusted vehicle that has excellent safety ratings certainly helps, such as a Jeep Compass, Cherokee that each have great safety ratings. Overall, learning to become a proficient driver and stay constantly aware of the flow of traffic and surrounding events takes practice and experience. In this article, we’ll break down some tips for teen drivers to help stay safe while on the drive.
Give Yourself Time
Being late is not an enjoyable experience, and can make the routine commute a chaotic experience asking you to speed and rush. Making sure you have enough time to drive to where you want to go allows you to be more relaxed and focused while on the road. Speed limits are engineered in order to give drivers enough time to react to an unexpected hazard or sudden change in traffic that could cause an accident. Leaving extra space between yourself and the car in front is a great way to give yourself more time to react reducing the chance of experiencing an accident.
Maintain a Safe Car
Staying on top of your vehicle’s maintenance is a great way to keep the vehicle in top fighting form and reduce the probability of having a breakdown or accident. Have the teen driver learn to go through and check the fluids and systems of the vehicle to learn and practice good car care. Having the teen help schedule service appointments and annual inspections is a great way to get them involved directly with the car’s well-being. When purchasing a vehicle that a teen will drive, try to find a vehicle within a budget that includes modern safety features such as electronic stability control or other handy features.
Discuss Drugs and Distractions
Drugs such as alcohol diminish certain functioning parts of our brain and body making it harder for us to react and make complex decisions accordingly. It’s important to set a 0 tolerance policy of driving or being in a vehicle where a driver is impaired and strategize a plan for backup transportation to help ease the decision. Driving while distracted also reduces a person’s capability to react in time to react to a hazardous situation, especially when you are starting out. Avoid using cellphones or other devices while a vehicle is in motion to help keep your focus on the road and surrounding traffic. Pulling over and stopping the car to use a cellphone is a great plan and only adds a few minutes.
Starting out driving on your own can be an exciting and slightly intimidating experience at first. With some strategizing and pre-planning, you can help increase the safety of driving in a motor vehicle for your teen. Having a dealership you can trust, such as our expert dealers and technicians here at Chrysler of Culpeper, is an invaluable resource to help figure out what is the best vehicle for your teen to start driving. You can check out our full line-up of used vehicles here; feel free to call and/or visit our lot to ask our friendly staff any questions you may have and test drive one of our vehicles.