Choosing a car for your teens eligible to drive can be challenging. There are so many models and options available that it is hard to know what will work best for your child’s needs. However, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Here are the top tips to help you shop for the perfect car for your teen driver.

1. Consider your Budget?

Money is the first thing that runs through the mind of most parents when it comes time to buy their teen a car. Buying a used car is always cheaper, but you’ll need to make sure the vehicle is in good condition and safe for your teenager to drive.

If you’re not comfortable buying a used car, there are plenty of new vehicles that are affordable as well. One of the tips to follow when buying a new car is to scout around for the different offers and incentives offered at the time. Many dealerships will offer discounts on vehicles with low mileage or a specific color range.

Another crucial thing to consider is how much money you’re willing to spend on car insurance each month. Insurance rates can vary in different companies, so comparing rates before buying a car is crucial. You may also get a discount on your insurance if your teen takes driver’s education classes.

2. Consider the Safety Features

Safety is the number one factor for parents when choosing a car for their teen driver. Look for vehicles with features like airbags, anti-lock brakes, and electronic stability control. These features can help keep your teen safe on the road.

Although most of these features are now standard on most cars, be sure to check before you buy.

3. Consider the Gas Mileage

The fact that gas money will be coming from your account and not your teen’s means that you should consider a fuel-efficient vehicle. Teens will love the idea of a hybrid or electric car, but be sure to check out the cost of ownership and compare it to other cars to make the most informed decision possible.

Remember, you don’t want to be replacing the car in a year or two because it’s not economical.

4. Consider their Needs and Interests

What type of car will best suit their needs? Do they need a family vehicle or something sportier for weekend getaways?

Are they more interested in performance or safety features? A sensible sedan may be the right choice for a first-time driver, while a teenager ready for a little more excitement might prefer a convertible.

Think about how your teen will use the car. If they primarily drive on city streets, fuel efficiency may be more important than all-wheel drive. But if they’ll be hitting the open road, horsepower and towing capacity could become factors.

It’s also important to consider what your teen wants in a car. They’re probably not as excited about getting their license as you are, so it’s essential to find something they’ll be happy with.

The truth is that there’s no specific car for every teenager. But by considering your teen’s needs and interests, you can narrow down the choices and find the ideal vehicle for them.

5. Take them for a Test Drive

When it comes to buying the first car for their teen, parents want to make sure they are making the best decision possible. One way to accomplish this is to take your teen for a test drive in the car they are interested in. This will allow them to see how it handles and if it’s comfortable for them.

You can have them test different cars you may be interested in or even the same car in different colors. This will help them decide what they like best and narrow down their options.

6. Consider the Cost of Maintaining the Car

Teens are known for their erratic driving and can easily damage a car. So, parents must consider the cost of maintaining the vehicle. The last thing every parent would want is to be stuck with a bill for repairs your teen can’t afford.

Some vehicles are more expensive to maintain than others. For example, a luxury car will likely require more costly repairs and replacements than a standard sedan. So, it’s best to go for an affordable and practical model.

Buying a car for a teenager is a big decision for parents. As mentioned in this blog, there are many factors to consider when making this purchase, such as the car’s safety and how it will fit into the family budget. Parents can find the perfect vehicle for their teen drivers by following these tips.

Read Car Responsibilities: How to Talk to Your Teen About Driving.

Read: 5 Benefits of Therapeutic Boarding Schools.

Read: Where to Send Your Troubled Teens.

Read: What Causes Teen Mental Health Issues.

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Contact us if you have exhausted your local resources with your troubled teen. We help you make smart decisions for teen help programs, therapeutic boarding schools and other options for struggling teens.

The post How to Choose the Best Car for Your Teen to Drive first appeared on Help Your Teens.

Driving is a major responsibility for anyone — although learning the proper mechanics is something teens in particular need to understand before getting on the road.  Case in point: Six teens die every day from car crash injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Knowing this information, if you’re working with your teen to get their learner’s permit or driver’s license, it’s time to sit down and have “the talk” — that is, about car responsibilities.

Be a Good Role Model

It’s no secret young people tend to emulate the actions, beliefs and attitudes of their parents, which is why you should always set a good example to teach and reinforce good habits. As such, when you get in your car, make it a habit (if it isn’t already) to put away your smartphone, fasten your seat belt and check your mirrors before starting the vehicle.

Additionally, you’ll always want to use your turn signal, follow the speed limit and keep your emotions in check. Never drink and drive or get behind the wheel if you aren’t feeling like yourself, and be open to discussing the decisions you make behind the wheel. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, your teen is watching you and will want to model your actions and behaviors.

Set Limits

When your teen gets their driver’s license, it’s important to set some important rules of the road beyond the relevant driving laws in your state. By clearly defining your expectations upfront, you’ll reduce conflicts, costly mistakes and other problems. Moreover, you’ll feel more confident and have better peace of mind about your teen’s driving abilities.

Fortunately, some states require teens to have progressive driving licenses that set limits on when they can drive and how many passengers are allowed in their vehicle at any one time. But even if your state doesn’t employ any restrictions for teen drivers, you should have open, honest discussions with your loved one about these important topics.

If you feel it necessary, draw up a safe driving contract with your teen to lay out any limits and responsibilities. For example, you may want to mention that they can only drive if they keep their grades up and stay out of trouble. Additionally, discuss any repercussions for distracted driving, including the use of their smartphone and ability to hang out with friends.

Continue the Discussion

Safe driving goes beyond explaining any important rules of the road. In fact, these conversations should be ongoing to ensure your teen maintains good driving habits and understands their responsibilities behind the wheel. While they should know the rules of the road, they also need to understand how to take care of their vehicle and when to take it in for maintenance.

For instance, if their tires are under inflated or don’t have enough tread, they could pop or slide on the road, creating a chain of events that could result in an accident. With that in mind, teach your teen how to check for symptoms of over-inflated tires and signs tires may need to be replaced, ensuring any new tires have an appropriate ply rating that measures strength and capacity.

As a parent, you also should discuss responsible driving behaviors and what to do in the case of an accident. While your teen may be reluctant to have these conversations, reinforce these conversations again and again. Because if they aren’t mature enough to talk about it, then they aren’t mature enough to get behind the wheel.

When All Else Fails, Reinforce the Rules Again and Again

Despite your best efforts and intentions, the information you share with your loved one may go in one ear and right out the other; after all, teens will be teens. Still, know that your teen is bound to make mistakes and/or circumvent your advice and rules while behind the wheel.

In these instances, it’s important to reinforce the rules you previously taught them or go back to the drawing board to implement new strategies. In the end, driving can be an inherently dangerous activity, which is why you need to do everything in your power to keep your teen — and everyone else on the road — safe.

Read: 5 Benefits of Therapeutic Boarding Schools.

Read: Where to Send Your Troubled Teens.

Read: What Causes Teen Mental Health Issues.

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If you’re struggling with your good teen making bad choices and you’ve exhausted your local resources, contact us to learn more about residential treatment. 

The post Car Responsibilities: How to Talk to Your Teen About Driving first appeared on Help Your Teens.

A fresh look at 10 years of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) shows the improvements in teen-involved fatal crash rates have not been as dramatic for older teens (ages 18-20) as compared to their younger counterparts (ages 15-17), and teen drivers are still 1.6 times more likely to be involved in a crash than adults.

The report examines the differences in fatal crashes between older and younger teens, as well as by gender, and provides a set of 11 policy and best practice recommendations for states to implement.

What is the problem?

• The analysis finds that teen drivers are still 1.6 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than their adult counterparts.
• New data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show teen-involved fatal crashes spiked 10 percent in 2015, the first uptick since 2006.
• According to GHSA’s new analysis, fatal crash rates for 18- to 20-year-old drivers have shown considerably less improvement over the past 10 years than for 15- to 17-year-old drivers.
• Older teen drivers are involved in more fatal crashes than younger teens.
• It is estimated that one in three teens is not licensed by age 18, which means that they do not benefit from graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs, which are proven to reduce crash risk by as much as 30 percent.

The report was funded through a grant from the Ford Motor Company Fund. The data analysis was conducted by Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants, and the report was researched and written by national teen driving expert Pam Fischer.

Read the full press release here.

The post Teen-Involved Crash Deaths Spike 10 Percent first appeared on Help Your Teens.

You may be reeling from the bouts of anxiety you feel from knowing that your baby is no longer safely strapped away in her car seat, but rather behind the wheel. However alarming this may be, you can help prepare yourself for this inevitable transition from child to adulthood with some light preparation.

Become Aware of the Law

Knowing you have a teenager also means that your lovely, perfect angel is also probably experimenting, making risky choices and facing peer pressure at every turn. As reported by teendriversource.org, the fatal crash rate for drivers ages 16 to 19, based on miles driven, is four times higher than for drivers ages 25 to 69. As terrifying as this may be, you can prepare by becoming aware of driving laws in your state and getting your teen involved in learning the stats specific to your state. If you live in Florida, for example, you can visit driving-tests.org to learn all of the rules that matter and are tested in this state.

Prepare for the Worst

Knowing the law is the first step in helping your teen become a safe driver. The next step is recognizing that accidents do happen and that knowing how to handle such a situation is useful in making the best out of a bad situation. You can help your teen prepare by enrolling him in courses that can help him become more savvy about how to handle tough situations. Both Driver’s Ed and Defensive Driving are excellent courses that can help your teen become a safer driver. With a little research, you can find out what the age requirements are in your state. In Washington, you can attend a Driver’s Ed course as early as 15 years old, and in Montana you can be 14 when you enroll, proving that laws vary from state to state but what remains the same is the benefit of early education.

Practice Makes Perfect

If Driver’s Ed doesn’t cut it for you in terms of preparation, you can also choose to check out other programs designed to cover what it may not. One such program, Driver’s Edge, employs professionals to specifically target the unusually high number of teen accidents. While the founding office is based out of Las Vegas, this program travels across the country and educates parents and teens alike.

Be Understanding

Teenagers are looking to make their mark in the world and rules and regulations often appear as impositions on their independence. So don’t be surprised when from time to time, they do act out and in ways that make you cringe. You can, however, make clear that the car is not the place to challenge authority by sharing stories of other teens who made choices that resulted in fatal errors.

According to health.harvard.edu, preventing driving accidents with teens can be as simple as setting the right limitations. So, instead of being concerned with where your teen is driving, consider how he is driving. By stressing the behaviors that good drivers exhibit, you can help your teen start to model these behaviors.

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If you are struggling with your teenager and have exhausted your local resources, learn more about how residential treatment can help your teen make better choices. Contact us today for  a free consultation.

The post Teen Driving Laws and Statistics You Need to Know first appeared on Help Your Teens.