Traveling with Your Teen: When and When Not To Let Them Drive

Family vacations are a time to enjoy being together and experiencing new things as a family. It is something that families do to make memories and have a good time. It is also a great time to allow your newly licensed teen to get behind the wheel and take part of driving for the vacation.

This experience for your teen will not only provide them with self-confidence, it will also help them feel very mature. It is important to establish this type of feeling in your teen so that they will become a responsible driver. However, there are a few things that you should consider when you allow your teen to drive on the family vacation.

Tips For Teens Driving On A Family Vacation

• Familiar Roads. You may want to consider letting your teen start driving when you first leave home. They will be more familiar with the area in which they are driving, making it less stressful.

• Avoid Rush Hour. If you will be in an area that is heavy with traffic during rush hour make sure you are at the wheel and not you teen. While they will need to learn rush-hour tactics at some point, the family vacation is not the time for this. Keep in mind that every city has different traffic patterns, so you may run into unexpected gridlock. As one Orlando car accident attorney pojnts out online, a dangerous time to travel around the theme park area is close to park opening and when the park closes. Make sure your teen knows to expect to put on the brakes around these times and areas.

• Night Driving. You should avoid letting your teen drive at night. You can gradually allow them to drive when it is dark a little bit at a time, but long stretches of driving at night is not good for an inexperienced driver.

• Construction Areas. If there is going to be a large amount of construction on the highway you are traveling on, you may want to take the wheel. Construction areas can be very hazardous even for the most experienced drivers.

• Weather Conditions. Your teen will need to learn how to drive in different weather conditions, so you should allow them to try and drive. However, if the weather makes you nervous, you can safely assume your teen is terrified and you should switch drivers.
• Time Frames. You should limit driving times for your teen. Long stretches of open road can be very hypnotic, even for the most experienced drivers. You want to change up every hour or two to make sure that all drivers remain alert.
• Stay Positive. Remember that this is a learning experience, so remain calm with your teen. This is possibly the first real experience they have had driving long distances and away from their home.

The family vacation can be the perfect opportunity for parents to help their teen’s transition into adulthood by giving them part of the responsibility of getting the family to their destination. This is a very important milestone in their lives, and it is something that will remain with them forever. It is important to make this experience as positive as possible, and following these simple tips will allow that to happen.

With a self-proclaimed theme park addiction, Melanie Fleury often travels into the Orlando area. Even for a seasoned driver, she finds the traffic overwhelming at times and has often seen accidents from overly enthusiastic young drivers in a hurry. If you are in a car accident while traveling, make sure you contact a lawyer who knows the laws in that area. Steinger, Iscoe & Greene, Orlando car accident attorneys, know how the no-fault rules and other laws in Florida may affect your case if you’re in an accident in the Sunshine State.

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/statefarm/7838235550/