The Norman Transcript

Opinion

Discussion

October 15, 2012

Young drivers can learn from parents

By Chuck Mai The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Parents are the key to teen driver safety. It just makes sense — the more involved parents are in their teens’ driving life, the safer teens will be on the road.

In recognition of Teen Driver Safety Week, which began Oct. 14, AAA urges parents to:

n Be role models. Our children pick up more from how we act than we think.

Kids typically mimic the driving behaviors of their parents.

n Set rules. Oklahoma has a pretty good teen Graduated Driver Licensing

(GDL) law. It sets limits on where novice drivers can drive, at what hours and with how many passengers. But conscientious parents will take these rules one step further by imposing guidelines on things like cell phone use while driving, texting, use of seat belts, highway driving and alcohol.

n Stay involved. Communication between teen and parent is vital. Ask your kids where they’re going, who they’ll be with, what roads they’ll be on and when they’ll be back. Then when they return, talk about their driving experiences — how was it? Any problems? Did you encounter any unusual driving scenarios? You know what to ask and you know you are the answer.

With high school driver’s education now almost a thing of the past, who is teaching your teen how to drive? Are they gathering these life skills from TV car commercials? Video games? Their friends?

There’s a reason teen drivers pay the most of any age group for car insurance — they have the most wrecks. Car crashes are still the leading cause of death for teens.

Parents can step up and do more to reduce their teen’s risk on the road. A good free resource is TeenDriving.AAA.com. It has a downloadable parent-teen driving agreement, sample driving test questions, specifics on Oklahoma’s GDL law and useful advice for teens and parents.

Chuck Mai is vice president of public affairs for AAA Oklahoma. He can be reached at 753-8040 or at chuck.mai@aaaok.org.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Opinion
  • Republican Party has unmitigated gall

    Editor, The Transcript: When it comes to unmitigated gall, the Republican Party has no equal. Take the current Benghazi hearings, for example. This is nothing but a political charade aimed at the 2014 election and Hillary Clinton’s ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Airline changes coming

    In the airlines business, time is money. American Airlines wants to try and speed up its boarding process. Passengers who travel with only a personal item such as a purse or a brief case can now get on first....

    May 19, 2013

  • SEC should act on conflicts

    Money talks. In the continuing dispute over the all-too-cozy relationship between the people who create and sell financial products and the people who rate their risk, the money says: Shut up and let us do what we want....

    May 19, 2013

  • We all deserve better

    The tough treatment of the Tea (Taxed Enough Already) party and other conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service is being assailed by leaders of both political parties....

    May 19, 2013

  • John Tullius’ cartoon is wrong about education

    Editor, The Transcript: John Tullius’ last Saturday cartoon has jumped up and stepped right on my toes, along with, I suspect, the toes of teachers and school personnel all over town: “Growing up — we learned good morals, values and ...

    May 19, 2013

  • What hope for our humanity’s predicament?

    Editor, The Transcript: Well, what is it, this “predicament” of ours, our humanity’s? What’s behind or underneath this predicament, this predication, this saying before or is it a “before saying?” Ah, that might be getting closer to what ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Gas stations used to command loyalty

    More than 50 years ago, Ed Ruscha set off on a road trip from California to Oklahoma City and back. The young artist was driving to see his mother, who still lived in Oklahoma....

    May 19, 2013

  • Women can’t be at the front in Catholic church

    Editor, The Transcript: Kathryn Jean Lopez’s editorial, “Women to the front,” made me scratch my head. Since it was about the Catholic Church, she must know that Catholic women can’t be at the front. They cannot be priests, bishops or ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Tax plan gets projects going

    A deal to divert state use taxes to fund completion of the American Indian Cultural Center Museum in Oklahoma City and build the Museum of Popular Culture in Tulsa looks like a good way to get some momentum on both projects....

    May 18, 2013

  • Tax cuts help wealthy and harm schools

    Perhaps it’s old news by now, but I hope the controversy will live on....

    May 18, 2013