'I
Teen-Agers
PI964:
AUTO
SHOW
Can Be Good Drivers!
By HOWARD PYLE
President, National Safety Council
I Q?llf Ml
They have a poor safety record, true
but proper driver training plus the support and confidence of parents could turn the tide
""et the kids off the road they
VjT cause all the accidents!"
How many times have you heard that? Fre
quently, I am sure. Teen-agers are prime scape
goats for our ills on the highway.
Unfortunately, there is considerable justice to
the charge. On the basis of proportionate popu
lation, young drivers are responsible for a great
er share of traffic accidents than their elders.
But before you despair, consider this fact:
teen-agers not only have the potential for top
flight driving, they can actually fulfill this poten
tial with adequate driver-education courses. Re
search has demonstrated that teen drivers who
received formal driver-education courses in their
high schools have fewer accidents and viola
tions. Yet just more than half the nation's high
schools provide the needed courses.
The recommended program in schools involves
five key points:
Discussion and review of driving problems;
demonstration of correct driving practices; sec
ondary discussion requiring the student to ex
plain each step of the demonstration; second
demonstration with the student participating;
and practice sessions consisting of on-the-road,
behind-the-wheel experience.
Such driver-education courses cost about $35
$45 per pupil. But with their proved benefits, it
is hard to understand why they are not available
to every student in the nation.
An automobile is, after all, an expensive, high
ly complicated pi"ce of machinery. Does it make
any sense, then, to let a youngster even though
he has reached legal licensing age operate this
piece of machinery without a thorough ground
ing in the art of driving? Industry would never
permit an untrained worker to operate a com
parable piece of heavy machinery!
There is nothing inherently wrong with the
youthful driver. Physically, he is the ideal per
son to handle an auto. Many theorizers have at
tributed teen-age accidents to the stress of ado
lescence. But the National Safety Council's di
rector of research. Dr. Murray Blumenthal, says
there is no clear-cut evidence to support the tra
ditional belief that adolescence is a time of vast
emotional turmoil.
He develops the idea that inexperience and
inadequate education are primarily responsible
for the disproportionately high number of acci
dents among young people. This concept is fur
ther supported by research in industry that at- -tributes
a substantial amount of accident repe
tition to lack of experience, not "stress."
While this discussion of the teen-ager's poten
tial does not erase the fact that he has been, and
is still, performing under par as a driver, it does
point a way toward making him a better driver.
As A parent, much of the job falls on you. First,
. every effort should be made to provide
him with a driver-education course. If none ex
ists in your community, you and other parents
can work to bring one into the high-school cur
riculum. Your local or regional citizen-safety
organization can be of great help.
But the job does not stop there. Once your teen
is enrolled in an approved course, you should as
sist him to achieve success. Help him in his prac
tice sessions in the family car. Attempt to instill
confidence rather than add to his fears. Patience
is the order of the day. Refrain from talking as
much as possible; if explanations are in order,
have him pull over to the curb. You may be able
to talk and drive, but the youth must concentrate
on the main job.
Give your teen .as much experience as pos
sible: on shopping trips and vacations, during
bad weather conditions, and in the many other
situations that cannot be duplicated in driver
education courses. Above all, don't cram the teen
ager's head with do's and don'ts. Let him reason
and rely on what he has learned from his teacher
and the course. Your job should be supplemental,
not a substitute.
You should, however, make mental note of your
youngster's abilities and deficiencies behind the
wheel. Does he stay in the right lane? Does he
maintain a proper distance from the car ahead
one car length for every 10 miles of speed?
These and other basic safety rules should be
observed and discussed with him. When you see
that he carefully follows these rules of the road,
you can begin to relax. Soon after completion of
his course, your teen-ager will be ready for a
license and his first "solo" drive a safe one.
Issuance of a youngster's first license is a big
event in his life, and much should be nude of
it. Knowing that he is ready an educated and
reasonably skilled driver should help relieve
your anxieties about his getting a license. And
if you indicate your pleasure and trust, it will
go a long way toward making your teen-ager
one of the best drivers on the road.
Teen-agers can truly set a good example on
our highways, but it takes the meaningful com
bination of driver education in the schools plus
the support and confidence of parents.
How to Earn the Key to Dad's Car
Teen-agers! A helpful new booklet containing
safety tips, driving hints, and pointers on driver
attitude has been prepared by the Lincoln-Mercury
Division of Ford Motor Company. For your
free copy of "How to Earn the Key to Dad's
Car," write to Teen Driving, Dept. A, S00O Schae
fer Road, Dearborn, Mich.
Family Wtkl. Ortotxr I. ItU