Other teen driver restrictions include, but are not limited to a time curfew. In the 1990’s this curfew was conceived as a crime reduction tactic and curfews were promoted during the “tough on crime” era during the Bill Clinton administration. Before that, parents had control of their own children’s curfew time. Unfortunately, now instead of Cinderella’s coach turning into a pumpkin, she would likely be picked up by the police and brought back to the jail where she would wait for her stepmother to collect her.

Most states also enforce a teen driver restriction where they cannot drive a vehicle with more than one non-family member under the age of 21 in the car with them. When I was a teen, we would pack kids in the car like sardines. Seat belt use was not required until 1986, so everyone would squeeze in, sit on laps, ride on the floor or in the back window of the car like a beanie baby. I suppose now, this teen driving restriction allows you to only kill one friend at a time, rather than all of your friends at once. And we all remember those awkward teen years and how hard it is to make new friends.

Since drivers education is not offered in most high schools now as a course during school hours as it was in the past, and driver education classes are considerably expensive, there are other options offered which are less expensive but are less intensive (and, in my opinion, not as good). Online driver education courses are available as well as parent-taught driver education courses offered as a take-home course through the Department of Public Safety. Since it is well known that the highest mortality issue for teens is car accidents, investing in your child’s life by paying the extra for a live driving school course is always the best route.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

Teen Driver Restrictions – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Now, there are new techniques and guides that have been developed out of new scientific research. The study shows that, after teaching basic vehicle handling skills, few parents went on to teach next-step driving skills, such as spotting and avoiding a potential hazard. Slowing when approaching a crosswalk where pedestrians might appear, or in a neighborhood where children are at play that may slip behind parked cars or alleyways are just a few lessons to teach. Drilling them on maneuvers that will avoid hazards and how to develop hazard recognition and judgment, making left turns in an intersection and how to merge (especially onto and off of high speed roadways) are super important.

Insurance company State Farm, funded research and development to help keep teen drivers safe. And they offer a program called “Road Trips,” at teendriving.statefarm.com. This program helps teach your teen how to drive on more varied roads (at night and in bad weather).

You want your kid to get a good start at driving and should never try to push them, but let them progress at their own pace so that they will feel more confident behind the wheel. Both KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL imparted will help them to be better drivers.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

( See Daun November 3rd at the Arlington, Texas IMPROV )

Teaching Skills To Avoid Accidents – Comedy Defensive Driving

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The post Driving Tips for New Drivers appeared first on Comedy Defensive Driving®.

The 5 To Drive safe driving campaign topics are:
1. No Cell phone use or texting while driving
2. No extra passengers
3. No speeding
4. No alcohol
5. No driving or riding without a seat belt

Most states already have the above restrictions for new drivers. In Texas, a new driver has restrictions for one full year after they receive their driver license. No talking or texting. Driving curfews. And only one non-member under 21 in the car with you when you are driving (i.e. they only want you to kill one friend at a time…not all of them at once). That’s a brilliant restriction since we would pack kids in our cars like sardines when I was a teen driver.

My chief complaint as a mother of a teenage driver is the options for driver training that are currently offered. When I was a teen, we had drivers education in high school. It was part of our curriculum. We had a simulator that looked like a bumper car with a little theatre screen on it. How appropriate, to learn how to drive in a bumper car. My father would also take us out on country roads in his truck and have us practice driving. So, in addition to our driver training in school, we got hands-on instruction from my dear old dad. And my dad was a drunk driver. So, I learned how to weave and drift across three lanes. He’d put his beer can on the center of the dashboard and say “Now, line that up with the edge of the road.” Then he’d climb over the seat and pass out. Now, most high schools don’t even offer driver education. Independent driving schools offer driver education at a high cost. Or, a teen can take an online driver education course for quite a bit less. And, in Texas, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) offers a Parent-Taught Driver Education course for the least expense. The cover letter in the packet is totally written by a mother, too. It’s already letting you have it as a parent. It says “This is a parent-taught driver education course. Not a child-teaches-child while the parent is in the other room watching television.” Most teens are now taught to drive by their mothers. When I ask these teens, they say it is because their father is too impatient. I ask mothers who have taught this course to their teens if they were in the room with them while they were doing the classroom instruction. Most say they were not. At least they’re honest. But that means that there are many teens out there driving around with a scant idea of what they are doing behind the wheel. It’s a chilling thought. The more parents are really involved with instilling important driving skills and habits and making sure that they are constantly reminding them and making them accountable for their driving actions, the better chance that their teen will not end up as a statistic.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

5 To Drive – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Road Safety – Teens and Cars

My father taught me how to drive. And he was also a drunk driver, so I learned to weave and drift across three lanes at an early age. He’d set his beer can on the center of the dashboard and no joke, say “Now line that up with the edge of the road.” Then he’d climb over into the backseat and pass out. I learned to drive when I was 8 years old. If this were the case, in 2013, Child Protective Services would be my “Dad.” I’ve been told that CPS will also babysit for free …and they will do it for many, many years.

We also had driver education when I was in high school. It was part of our curriculum. Now, you typically have to take it from an outside school, at a whopping cost of $300 to $500. And, I’m sure it’s better than being taught by a drunk parent (or, what I like to call an authoritative figure that slurs). But teaching someone “evasive” driving is much like being taught “acting.” It cannot be taught…it can only be felt. Meaning, they can teach you all of the “textbook” evasive moves (how to recover from a skid, how to avoid an obstacle without rolling your car, what to do when your car is hydroplaning, etc.) but, until you actually experience those things, what you’ve been taught means very little. That’s where The Drivers Edge comes in, teaching kids, ages 15-25, road safety. And, considering, with the high mortality rate due to inexperience (the main cause for collisions), they actually teach them hands-on evasive driving. You can check out their website and register for a free course when they do their annual national tour. Drivers Edge

Man, things have really changed since I was a young driver but one thing has not, teens and cars are still a bad combination, there’s no doubt about that. But, when I was learning to drive, there were no unmarked police cars, with the lights in the grille of the car or behind the tinted back window.  Now, you don’t realize it’s a police car until you pass them, doing 90 mph and they “light you up” (which sounds like fun…being lit up…but it’s not fun). When I was a teenager, the lights were always on top of the police cars. Even if someone was following behind you with a luggage rack on top of their car, at night, it looked like it could be a cop and your heart would be pounding away in your chest. Actually, that may have been paranoia from partying too much. And tickets didn’t look like a WalMart receipt when I was a kid. It was just a small ticket and on the backside, it listed what your fine would be for each mile over the speed limit. And the price of the ticket wasn’t crazy expensive like they are now. The maximum amount of the fine was $50. And that was for manslaughter…you can’t even afford to kill someone anymore…it’s the economy.  Remember…always blame everything on the economy.

Until next week…be safe.

Daun Thompson
Comedienne / Artist / Writer

Teens and cars

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When a teenager is added to the parent’s policy, according to the study, the annual insurance premium for a one-car family while for a two-car family it generally jumps about 58 percent and for a three-car family, about 62 percent!!!

This is because drivers ages 15 to 19 tend to get into MORE accidents than older drivers and have little driving experience.

So how can parents of teenage drivers reduce the insurance costs? comparing rates from different companies; making sure your teenager is driving a safe car that is inexpensive to insure; and asking for DISCOUNTS if your child gets good grades in school, takes certain DRIVING CLASSES or drives a vehicle with a monitoring device installed. A lot of courses out there will help reduce your car insurance, make sure to ask your car insurance provider first.

The data is based on an analysis of car insurance quotes provided by Insurance.com were users for all levels of liability coverage from October 2009 through September 2010 provided their information. Collision and comprehensive coverage was not included in the analysis.

How much did your insurance jump when your child started driving? How have you lowered the cost, if at all?
If your insurance provider agrees in your policy for insurance reduction by taking defensive driving classes, well… Look no further, at
https://comedydefensivedriving.com
We can help! Just give us a call or register for the online course! A tip for our readers is to use the PROMO CODE: SPEED at checkout for an extra discount!

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