Since birth, parents have the biggest responsibility on their children. But this responsibility does not end when the kids reach their teenage years. This is the period where the children want to explore things and so as driving. As parents, they are the ones expected to primarily educate their children on the right behavior on and off the road. And giving consequences when their teens break a driving law will help in the avoidance of car accidents.
A Liberty Mutual and SADD (Students against Destructive Decisions) study revealed that 44 percent more hours driving each week in the summer season than during the school year are spent by teens. The study recommended that parents should firmly impose consequences for their teens’ not obeying driving laws such as those regarding speed limit, the use of cell phone and seat belt while driving, and the traffic signals.
SADD Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Wallace said that parents must validate their influence to their children especially during their teenage driving years. He added that the parents must inculcate in the minds of their children the proper behavior while driving or while on the road. He firmly adheres to the belief that the words and actions of the parents must have a strong impact to the teens so that the latter would obey and know what is right and what is not.
In a survey conducted among over 900 high school students with a driver's license, teens who believe their parents would follow through on threatened consequences for disobeying a driving law are less likely to say they speed than are the teens who say their parents are unlikely to follow through on any penalty. Moreover, only 31 percent of teens who said their parents will enforce a consequence responded they drive with more than three passengers in the car. Sixty (60) percent of the teens said their parents only talk but does not do any action regarding this.
According to Greg Gordon, the vice president of Liberty Mutual, Consumer Marketing, the findings of the study cannot be overstated. He said speeding contributes to crashes. The study revealed that the more passengers a teen driver has, the more it experiences a crash. He said this while pointing out at Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study. He added that parents have a huge role in the avoidance of their teens’ car accidents.
Many states enact or consider legislation on cell phone use and text messaging while driving. The SADD/Liberty Mutual study revealed over 52 percent of teens who say their parents are unlikely to follow through on a consequence if they disobey a driving law responded they talk on a cell phone while driving while only 36 percent of teens believe their parents would indeed give them a penalty.
Practically speaking, parents can have a big impact on their teens’ using a cell phone while driving even without a cell phone law. In the research it was found out that 37 percent of the teens who say their parents are likely to enforce a punishment for not obeying a family driving rule about cell phones are significantly less likely to talk on the cell phone while driving while 65 percent of the teens say their parents are unlikely to follow through on any consequence.
The research did not only point out how parents can discourage destructive driving behaviors by setting and following through on consequences. It also revealed how parental enforcement enhances safe driving habits. Teens whose parents impose penalties for disobeying driving law are more likely to wear their seat belts (89 percent vs. 74 percent); parents require their passengers to buckle up (82 percent vs. 64 percent), parents obey stop signs (91 percent vs. 60 percent), and parents use turn signals (89 percent vs. 76 percent).
How the study was done and the results were interpreted
The Liberty Mutual and SADD commissioned Guideline to make a quantitative survey among high school students on a wide range of attitudes and behaviors which are very prevalent to teens. An entire part of the survey was intended for teen driving. The heart of the driving report was exclusively on the responses of 903 teen from a national sample of 26 high schools in April and May, 2006. The chosen teens each have a driver's license. A percent confidence interval along with +/- 3.3% error margin was used to interpret the relevant and specific findings. Subject to wider error margins is the analysis of survey subgroups. Due to rounding error, percentages in the report may add to more or less than 100 percent. This happens when multiple response answers were accepted.
General Motors Corporation, also known as GM or GMC is the largest auto company in the world. This American automobile company must have something to say on the results of the study since it dominates the American automotive industry. But aside from manufacturing
GMC oxygen sensor, it also produces top of the line safety equipments for its cars that could decrease the incidence of car crash. Nonetheless, the company would probably agree on the parents’ impact on the behavior of the driving teens as revealed by the study.
