The 5 Most Important Things Parents Need To Teach Teens About Night Driving

Hi, this is Seth Smiley of the Smiley Law Firm. In today’s edition of the Parents of Teen Drivers Facebook Group, we are discussing ” The 5 most important things parents need to teach teen drivers about night driving.”

Our objective is to always keep our teens safe on the road whether we do that through giving information, getting more from teen driving school, or other ways we need to do better.

The teen driving statistics make for sad reading, and the rate of accidents is far too high.

Your kids need to follow Teen driving laws, and I wanted to make everyone aware that nighttime driving can be deadly if they are not. The statistics say that you are three times more likely to get into an accident after the sun goes down, so we need to make sure our teens are more cautious and safe whenever it is nighttime.

With this in mind, here are the 5 most important things parents need to teach teen drivers about night driving:

•  Make sure you are not tired!

We have had cases here at the law firm where clients have been in an accident, and the other side just said, “Hey look, it was late, and I was tired.”

So, the number one thing is to make sure you are not tired! Remind your teen not to drive if they feel tired.

• At nighttime, you can’t see pedestrians or bikes!

It is to do with distracted driving, but it is a fact that at night we all struggle to see pedestrians or people riding bikes or motorcycles.

You need to make sure your teen driver is aware of this issue and pay attention when out after dark.

• Get your eyes checked! 

Parents need to make sure that their teenagers have regular eye checks. If they wear glasses or contacts, make sure the prescription is up-to-date.

Having corrected vision is essential to avoiding accidents at nighttime. 

• Know when and how to use high beams!

High beams can potentially blind oncoming traffic. Make sure that your teen driver knows precisely when it is appropriate to use the high beam!

• Make sure your headlights are in good order!

It is a serious issue, particularly with older cars. The lights will get dingy or yellow, or sometimes a bulb is out.

Make regular checks as having your headlights in good condition can save lives!

So, these are the 5 most important things parents need to teach teen drivers about night driving that we have found to recommend to you. Please discuss these with your teenagers.

If you have anything you would like to add or some other tips about staying safe when driving at nighttime, please comment below.

Thank you so much.