Kentucky parents encouraged to teach teens ‘keys to driving’ before hitting the road

• Avoid distracted driving: According to the NHTSA, driver distraction is the leading factor in most crashes. Avoid distractions, such as talking or texting on your cell phone, talking to passengers, adjusting audio and climate controls, and eating or drinking while driving. Additionally, it is not safe to wear headphones while driving, as they may prevent the driver from hearing sirens, horns, or other important sounds.

• Wear seat belts: Wearing a seat belt is the best protection against injury and death. Yet, according to the NHTSA, adolescents are less likely to be restrained than members of any other age group. Properly worn seat belts affect the strongest parts of the body, such as the chest, hips and shoulders. A seat belt distributes the force of a crash over a wide area of ​​the body, placing less pressure on any part, and allows the body to slow down with the impact, thus extending the time the occupant feels the forces of impact.

• Use extreme caution when driving with passengers. Passengers in a teenager’s car can lead to tragedy. NHTSA research shows that the risk of a fatal crash increases significantly in direct relation to the number of passengers in a car. The likelihood of teenage drivers engaging in risky behavior triples when traveling with multiple passengers.

• Respect speed limits: Limits are in place to protect all road users. Driving above the speed limit significantly reduces the driver’s ability to safely navigate around another vehicle, a dangerous object, or an unexpected turn. According to the NHTSA, young men are most likely to be involved in speed-related fatal crashes.

• Never drive while impaired: All teens are too young to legally purchase, possess, or consume alcohol, but they still remain at risk. As soon as a person takes a drink, the impairment begins. Alcohol slows reflexes, weakens coordination, blurs vision, gives a false sense of control and leads to risky decision-making. Just like alcohol, marijuana and other drugs also affect a driver’s ability to safely respond to their environment.

• Do not drive drowsy. Between school and extracurricular activities, teens are busier than ever and tend to compromise something very important: sleep. According to the NHTSA National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study, drowsy drivers are twice as likely to make performance errors during a crash as drivers who are not fatigued.