Teens, activate the "do not disturb" feature on your phones to help mitigate distractions caused by notifications.
Spring Break Safety
Tips for A Safe Spring Break
As parents, you play a crucial role in guiding your teen away from risky behavior, particularly when it comes to road safety. By modeling safe driving practices and having open conversations with your teens about the rules of the road, you can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and fatalities.
Read below for important information on topics such as distracted driving, knowing the law, limiting passengers, and enforcing safe driving habits. Together, let's make our roads safer for everyone.
Safety Tips for Parents
Be A Good Role Model
From early childhood to driving age, teens have been closely observing their parents’ actions behind the wheel. If a parent texts while driving or makes a phone call, their children may be more likely to follow that behavior. That’s why it’s so important for parents to model safe behavior on the road.
We encourage all parents to model safe driving by:
- Following speed limits and other rules of the road;
- Always wearing seat belts;
- Never engaging in road rage;
- Avoiding distractions including those beyond your phone, like applying makeup or eating; and
- Maintaining a safe following distance.
Talk to Your Teen
In addition to setting a good example, it’s important for parents to talk to their teens about safe driving from an early age.
Traffic crashes stand as a primary cause of fatalities among teenagers aged 15 to 18. In 2021, 861 teenage drivers lost their lives in collisions, with a total of 2,608 teen drivers involved in crashes resulting in fatalities.
Talking to your teen about the rules of the road could help prevent a crash or even a traffic fatality.
(Source: NHTSA)
Conversation Starters
Distracted Driving
Studies indicate that dialing a phone number while driving escalates the risk of your teenager crashing by sixfold, while texting behind the wheel raises this risk by a staggering 23 times.
Frequently emphasize to your teenager that driving demands their complete attention. Encourage them to postpone texts and phone calls until they reach their destination.
Know the Law
According to FLHSMV, “Florida Statutes allows law enforcement to stop motor vehicles and issue citations to motorists that are texting and driving.”
The penalties are as follows:
| First Offense | $30 | No Points |
| Second Offense | $60 | 3 points |
| School Zone (any time) | $60 | 3 points |
| Work Zone (any time) | $60 | 3 points |
Limit Passengers
Research conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that the likelihood of a crash rises with each additional teenage passenger accompanying your newly licensed teen driver. Having one teen passenger elevates the risk by 50%, while two passengers increase it by 158%, and three passengers skyrocket it to an astonishing 207%.
(Source: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)
No Teenage Passengers for the First Year
While it might appear highly inconvenient to restrict your teen's capacity to provide rides to younger siblings or friends, it's an essential measure for ensuring your teen's safety. Surprisingly, friends and siblings may pose a greater risk than other passengers because of their familiarity with your teen's triggers. Parents should strongly consider enforcing a rule that their teen driver cannot drive with teenage passengers for their first year on the road.
Safety Tips for Teens
Buckle Up
Teens, follow this simple rule: Your vehicle doesn’t move until all passengers, both in the front and back seats, are securely buckled up for every journey without exception. Shockingly, over half of the passengers who lost their lives in cars driven by teenage drivers in 2021 were not wearing seat belts.
(Source: NTHSA)
Eyes on the Road
Around 10% of teen drivers engaged in fatal crashes in recent years were distracted during the incidents.
Take Action
Don’t Drive Impaired
In 2021, 19% of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking (Source: NHTSA).
The law in Florida is very clear. Do Not Drink and Drive. For drivers under age 21, there is a strict policy of zero tolerance for drinking and driving. Drivers under 21 found with a blood alcohol level of .02 percent or higher will face an immediate six-month license suspension. A second offense warrants a one-year suspension. Refusal to undergo testing on the first offense leads to a 12-month suspension, escalating to 18 months for subsequent offenses. Keep in mind, those penalties don’t include the legal and other costs associated with drunk driving.
(Source: FLHSMV)
