TEEN DRIVERS: It’s a nerve-racking experience to hand over your car keys to your new teen driver.
AAA encourages parents to talk to teens about safe driving.
While listening to the lectures of grownups isn’t high on a teen’s list of favorite pastimes, reminding teens of the power of motor vehicles is an important conversation to have.
AAA suggests parents:
• Discuss with teens early and often the dangers of risky driving situations, such as speeding and nighttime driving.
• Discuss with teens the dangers and consequences of distracted driving (i.e., texting, having multiple people in the car, etc.).
• Teach by example and minimize your own risky behavior when behind the wheel.
• Make a parent-teen driving agreement that sets family rules for teen drivers. Consider setting driving limits that are stronger than a state’s law, and enforce those limits.
“Given the danger that speeding and nighttime driving present to teen drivers, we recommend parents be actively involved in their teen’s learning-to-drive process,” said Theresa Podguski, AAA East Central Director of Legislative Affairs.
According to AAA, 36 percent of motor vehicle fatalities that involve teen drivers happen between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Also, the percent of nighttime crashes goes up during the warm summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
AAA reports that 29 percent of fatal crashes involving teen drivers were speed-related.
Learn more at TeenDriving.AAA.com.
REGATTA:Participants of the seventh annual We Gotta Regatta will set sail at 2 p.m. today.
The Tuna Valley Trail Association fundraiser will take participants down the Tunungwant Creek from Browntown to Crook Farm, where a pig roast, raffles and live music will be held until 6 p.m.
