According to a new studies by State Farm Insurance and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Teens have less car accidents if they share a car with a parent or siblings.
As a parent who wants to reward a child for being such a good child by rewarding him with a car when he gets his license, this study has caught me off guard. Could giving my son a well deserved gift be the thing that would most risk his life? …Or, could he be the exception to this rule?
The rule basically says that if a child has free access to a car, and can come and go as they please, they tend to be more careless and have more accidents. Kids who have to take turns with a car or have to ask to use the car drive more carefully and have less accidents.
This study really does make a lot of sense. If a teen so much as scratches Mom or Dad’s car, they know their chances of driving it again in the near future are slim and so they drive carefully. If the car is theirs to do with as they please, they may take it more for granted and drive more recklessly.
So what is a parent to do when faced with a kid who just got his learner’s permit and is learning to drive with future hopes of having his own car? As I see it, I have a few choices. I can stall and have him take as long as humanly possible to get a drivers license. Do you think he would get upset if we stretched out his learning experience for two years? We can promise him a new car as a graduation present and not as a sixteen year old or as-soon-as-I-get-my-license present. We can get him a car if we still find him deserving but lay very strict driving rules. After all, USA Today just reported that strict rules from parents leads to safer teen driving.
If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
Also read:
Intermediate or Graduated Drivers Licenses for New Drivers
Teaching your teen to drive: Getting Started