One of the 6 major reasons for accidents is visibility. Your ability to see and others ability to see you. I work at a local high school and see many teens driving to school in the morning. Here are 6 easy ways to keep your teen safer.
1. Drive with your regular headlights on. Not just daytime running lights. You want your teen to be as visible as possible to other drivers. This is not just for driving in the dark - headlights during the day help other drivers see you better. Many drivers pull out from around bushes directly in front of other cars because they simply could not see them. This is especially important when the sun is coming up or going down. It takes 1 second to turn on headlights - it takes at least 5 times longer to put on a seatbelt.
2. Do not have anything hanging from your review mirror including parking permits. In high school I nearly hit a bicyclists because a cd hanging from my mirror created a perfect blindspot. I thought it looked cool until I almost killed a guy. Dice, beads, and smelly things are also great ways cause an accident.
3. Do not put stickers on the front or rear window. This will hurt their scanning. In many cities too many stickers is against the law.
4. Do not drive with a hood on. Drivers tend to not turn their heads as much with a hood on, and the hood may make it harder to see into the blindspot when doing an over-the-shoulder check.
5. If not equipped, adhere a small blindspot mirror onto the side mirrors. These are inexpensive in all auto parts stores or large box stores. A small blindspot mirror could definitely help if they continue to wear a hood.
6. Many students are small. Sitting too low in the seat could make it difficult finding the lines on a road, curbs, or concrete bumpers in parking lots. 7 years ago a 4'11" student was nearly killed while doing a lane change on the high way - she said she could not see the car in the blindspot (she could barely see anything). It is always best to sit very high. You should allow at least 4 inches of head room in case of a roll over and allow space between the wheel and your thighs so your hands don't hit your legs while turning the wheel. You should also be able to see down at the road within 30-40 feet of the vehicle when you have your hand on steering wheel position 12 (12 o'clock). You should not drive with your hand on steering wheel position 12 - you simply use it to gauge seat height. Don't sit too high that you have to lower your head to see 60 mph. Get a firm driving cushion or firm pillow if the seat does not go high enough.
