Teens Driving to School Need to Drive Safe and Smart

With no school bus service to , some parents are letting their teens drive themselves to school. Here are some tips to keep teens safe and keep parents sane:

• Set a “home-by” rule: Talk to your teen driver about when you expect them to have the car back in the driveway. Setting a “home-by” rule is to keep them from driving during the high-risk nighttime hours.

• Extend your teen's supervised driving period: Practice driving as often as you can with your teen. The more experience he or she has behind the wheel, the safer they'll drive.

• Set the rules of the road: Restrict the number of teen passengers, prohibit cell phone use and texting, and limit nighttime driving.
• Communicate: Know your teen's schedule for after school, whether they have a job or an extracurricular activity, so you know when they should be on the road and when they should be home.
• Get it in writing: Work with your teen to draft and sign a parent-teen driving agreement. Include clearly written rules, as well as consequences for breaking the rules. And enforce rules and consequences, even if it's inconvenient for you or upsetting for your teen.
• Set a good example behind the wheel:  Kids learn about road safety from a young age, so don't wait until your teen is old enough to drive to start modeling safe driving behaviors.