Are you getting ready to teach you teenager how to drive? Are you wondering what tips you can share with your child about safety on the road and taking care of their vehicle? Auto Glass Doc has a few tips and tricks to make sure your teenage driver is doing all of the right things when it comes to driving and taking care of their first car. With accidents and improper care of your vehicle comes auto glass repair and at times things can get a little pricey. Here are a few things your child should know about taking care of their vehicle and driving on the road:

Avoid Driving Close Behind Other Vehicles

Although your teenage driver will quickly learn the dangers of tailgating, it’s important to let them know why doing this can be not only dangerous, but life threatening if your child decides to tailgate a semi-truck or bigger vehicle. Tailgating could potentially put you at risk for a rear-end collision. It’s extremely important to remind your teenager that they should always stay a cars length away from the vehicle in front of them. This will ensure that if the car in front of them comes to a sudden stop, your child will have a better chance of breaking and moving out of the way. Tailgating also puts your child’s windshield at risk for damage. When you hit something head on, you are likely to cause your windshield to crack. Other damages may occur from the collision.

Another thing to remember about tailgating is making sure your child has eyes of the road ahead of them at all times. It’s easy for teenagers and even adults to get distracted while driving but reiterating the dangers of distracted driving can make your child aware of the possibilities of wrecking.

Avoid Slamming Your Car Doors

Remember as a child your parents would get upset when you slammed the car door behind you and you never really understood why they were so frustrated? Here is the reason why:

Forcefully closing a car door could potentially cause misalignments between the window tracks and the glass. When misalignment occurs, you may have problems opening and closing your windows on your vehicle properly. You could also shatter your window if you slam the door with enough force. If you want to avoid the pricey auto glass repair for a side window on your vehicle, educate you teen on this topic of discussion.

Let Your Teen Know That Slow and Steady Wins the Race

When you were a kid first starting to get behind the wheel and drive you may have been a little reckless a time or two. Although this may have been the case for you as a teenager, it’s crucial to teach your children that speeding and reckless driving can hurt you and other drivers around you. Not only is speeding and reckless driving dangerous, your child has the potential of getting a speeding ticket from law enforcement. Tickets and accidents can cause your insurance to increase rapidly as well, taking more money out of your pocket. It can also be educational for your child to understand the basics of insurance and why tickets and accidents can cause your rates to go up if you run into a problem like this.

Ultimately, your child will develop the driving habits you instill in them. Bad driving habits can end in some type of collision which almost always comes with damaged auto glass. Teaching your teen, the appropriate driving skills and habits is the most important step you can take as a parent before allowing them to drive on their own.

Always Wear A Seatbelt

Any time your teenager gets into their vehicle, remind them to put their seatbelt on. This is a habit you can start with your child when they are young. Each time you get in the car with your family, let them know that before you go anywhere their seatbelt needs to be on and buckled. By doing this when your children are young, they will have this habit instilled in them so when they begin driving, it’s a habit that will be carried over while they are on the road.

Why wearing a seatbelt is so important:

• Provides safety to everyone in the vehicle and other motorists
• Keeps you in your seat during impact of an accident
• Affects insurance rates
• Prevents you from being ticketed by law enforcement if you are seen without one on
• Reduces the risk of serious injuries or death

As you can see, wearing your seatbelt is just the simple and safer alternative while driving on the road. Let your teen know about the positives of wearing a seatbelt. It could save their life, someone else’s life, and potentially could prevent auto glass damage on the vehicle.

Auto glass safety is just a small part of driving. For those who are teaching their teenager the basics on driving, this is the perfect guide for you. Although auto glass safety is just a small part of driving it’s so important. Educating your child on insurance, seatbelt use, distracted driving, and taking care of their car can save you money and the trouble of worrying about your teen while they’re out on the road. If you run into a damaged windshield, sunroof, or side window, let Auto Glass Doc take care of you. Not only will we provide excellent customer service, our professionals will have your teens car looking good as new.