If you’re a parent, and your kids are growing up, you know some of them will probably start driving soon. By 15, you can begin teaching your children how to drive, and by 16, they can get their license if they feel confident enough to do so.

However, even if your kids can get their driver’s license at 16, they’re not fully-grown adults yet. You might worry about them being on the road, even if they can now be out there legally.

You might think about the dangerous driving habits that your teens can pick up. You can tell them to avoid those activities, but you might also pledge to avoid them too.

If you tell your kids you’ll never engage in those activities, and they shouldn’t either, that’s leading by example. If you’ve got a partner or spouse, they can agree to this commitment too. When your entire family says you’ll avoid these potentially risky driving habits, you’re all likely to stick to that pledge so as not to disappoint each other.

Let’s look at the driving activities you should all avoid.

Texting while driving

You should know that 94% of accidents are a result of human error. What this tells us is that far more accidents occur because of human mistakes than because of a vehicular malfunction.

More times than not, humans are in charge of what happens when they’re out on the road. Various distracted driving events cause more accidents than just about anything else.

With that in mind, your entire family can commit to not texting on your smartphones while driving. If you have a vehicle where you can text with someone via Bluetooth, then that’s safer than physically trying to use the phone while driving. Still, even that can distract you, and it’s best to avoid it.

Tell your inexperienced teen drivers that you won’t text on your phone or use Bluetooth to text while you’re driving, and they shouldn’t either. That can save a lot of potential accidents.

Speeding

When you taught your kids how to drive, you probably talked to them about speeding. They might have learned about it in driver’s education classes as well.

The thing is, though, it’s easy to say you won’t speed when you’re sitting in a classroom, but it’s another to avoid doing it when you’re out on the highway. Your teen might be exuberant about getting their license, and they might have the urge to open the vehicle up and see what it can do.

Tell your kids that they shouldn’t speed, and you won’t either. If you give your kids your hand-me-down vehicle so they can get to and from school, they can obey the speed limit on the way there. You can do the same in your new car during your daily commute.

Consuming alcohol

You also likely talked to your teen drivers about alcohol dangers. Maybe you have examples from your life that you can use. Many families have problem drinkers, or you might know a friend or coworker who got in a drunk driving collision.

Your teens should know how badly they can mess their lives up by drinking and driving. You might share with them some of the sobering drunk driving death statistics for the past year or decade.

You can tell your kids that they shouldn’t drink as long as they’re underage, but if they ever do, they should never drive. They can have a sober friend take them home instead, or they can call for an Uber or Lyft. Make sure to tell them you won’t be anywhere near as mad at them if they do that than if you find out they drank and drove.

Drug use

You should also tell your teen drivers that you would never consume recreational drugs and get behind the wheel, and you expect the same from them. Maybe recreational marijuana is legal in your state, and you feel that it’s likely your teens will try it. You can ask them not to, but it’s hard to keep an eye on them at all times, and peer pressure always exists.

Tell them that driving while high is just as dangerous as driving while drunk, and you expect them never to do it. They should also never experiment with other substances and drive, like opioids or whatever else their friends or classmates do.

If your whole family remains committed to safe driving, a fatal accident is far less likely.

Related posts:

Your complete guide to a CDL license How to keep your family safe when travelling by car Is it time to buy a car for your teen? Let’s talk about money What to do when your teenager accidentally hurts someone while driving on the road