How to Stop Your Teen from Texting While Driving

Read this article to find out how to stop this potentially deadly habit before your teen or someone else gets killed or severely injured. It's been all over the news lately. Studies are piling up showing that text messaging while driving can negatively affect reaction time and driving skills a good deal more than even being drunk. But how do you convince your teen that texting while driving isn't worth the potential
danger? Most teens believe in the old adage, "it won't happen to me" and carry an aura of invincibility allowing them to feel comfortable texting while driving. But, in most cases, they just started driving. Texting or even talking on the phone is distracting for even the most seasoned driver. Inexperienced teen drivers are likely to be that much more handicapped when attempting to multitask in the car. Here are a list of steps you may find useful for keeping your teen alive.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Talk to Your teen
   
   First, it's important to have a dedicated conversation on the topic with your teen. If you don't, it's likely your teen thinks you don't have strong feelings about texting while driving and that you aren't concerned with the potential danger. Take the time to have a conversation discussing the dangers and possible outcomes of texting while driving and you'll probably have at least some impact on their actions.

2. Scare Your Teen with Video
   
   Show them videos of what can happen if they text while driving. There is a good example put together by Mick Giannasi at the British website "The Observers". The piece is titled "Footage That Will Stop You Texting While Driving". The website is listed at the bottom of this article. You might think the vides is too graphic, but remember that teens often need to be shocked in order to get them to change their mind or pay attention. Being subtlet rarely has an effect on hard-headed teens.

3. No Phone = No Texting
   
   Don't allow them to bring their cell phone or PDA with them when they leave the house if they're driving somewhere. This might sound both simple and harsh, but it'll do the trick.

4. Set a Good Example
   
   Don't text message while driving. Texting is a dangerous task for anyone, not just teens. Don't give your teenager an easy argument by being a hypocrite.

5. Turn Off the Phone While Driving
   
   Tell your teen they are required to turn off the phone while driving. This will prevent the desire to respond to an incoming call or message. You can easily test whether they have done this by calling their cell phone when you know they're in the car. For example, by calling them 5 minutes after they pull out of the driveway, or 10 minutes after you know they've left the school parking lot. If it rings more than once, the phone is probably on. If it rings once or goes straight to voice mail it is most likely turned off.

6. Put the Phone or PDA in the Back
   
   Have your teen get into the habit of putting their phone in the backseat or in the trunk of the vehicle when they get in the car to drive. When the phone's out of reach it's a lot less tempting.

7. Develop Good Habits from the Start
   
   If your teen is still young or just starting out behind the wheel, develop the good habits early. Establish your rules before they even get their driving permit. Don't allow them to text while at a red light or at a stop sign. This will generate a gray area and a slippery slope toward blurring the line between what's "okay" and what's unsafe. It's better to set definable rules early and stick with them.

8. Punish when Necessary
   
   Punish your teen if you catch them texting while driving. Some teens need to fear real punishment to convince them of the importance of rules. Don't leave them with empty threats.

Tips & Warnings

• When discussing the topic, don't attack your teen, just speak objectively about what can happen if a person is distracted by texting.
• Above all, remember that you're the parent. You're the adult and the one in charge. You most likely pay the bills. You can take away the cell phone (payphones do still exist out there for emergencies). You can take away the keys or the car. You can ground them. Isn't it worth having your teen around for their graduation, their twenties, and adulthood?
• Injury or death to the driver, his or her passengers, pedestrians, or people in other cars, or property damage are all potential results of a driver texting in the car.

Resources

• Footage That Will Stop You Texting While Driving by Mick Giannasi
• Another Article I've Written on the Topic

[missnye]

on 11/7/2009 This is really excellent. Thanks. *****

[pepper0617]

on 10/8/2009 Great topic to bring teen texting to everyone's attention. Thanks.