Holiday Season Calls For Teen Drivers To Be Safe

Anthony Fontanelle
December 19, 2007

The holiday season is just around the corner and road safety conscious groups are calling out to teen drivers to be more careful this season. Takata, the world's largest manufacturer of safety belts, created a list of tips to teen drivers for safe and responsible driving. The list includes other safety tips other than always using the seat belt.

According to the company, it is very important that teen drivers should avoid any distraction in any form to keep themselves safe. And when it comes to minimizing distractions, the mobile phone comes to mind immediately. Teen drivers are advised to leave their mobile phones at home or turn it off while behind the wheel.

Apart from mobile phones, eating while driving can also lead to distraction. Combined, mobile phones and eating while in the car causes distractions which results to about 4,000 traffic accidents on a daily basis. That fact is according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration or the NHTSA.

Another thing that Takata is pointing out is that more teen drivers are driving with numerous passengers. If a teen is driving a vehicle loaded with his or her friends, there is a big chance that he or she can be distracted. Therefore, Takata advises teen drivers to drive with as few passengers as possible. The NHTSA reported that a vehicle loaded with three or more passengers can be involved in an accident four times than a single driver's risk.

And since driving in winter is a potential problem for teen drivers, Takata advises them to take precautionary measures. One of these tips is to "thoroughly clean windows before driving, allow extra time to reach your destination, turn on your headlights anytime there is fog, rain, sleet, or snow". By following these simple tips, teen drivers can protect themselves from the risk of meeting an accident while driving in winter.

Other tips provided by Takata reads: "Double/triple the space between you and the car in front of you during any type of precipitation"; "Check to make sure brakes and windshield wipers are working properly before driving"; "Carry an emergency kit: Items to include are an ice scraper, windshield washer fluid, warm blanket, jumper cables, lock de-icer, and a flashlight"; and "Never let your gas tank go below half-full."

These tips offered by Takata will go a long way in keeping teen drivers safe. Reliable seat belts as tough as Acura brake dust shields will also help a lot.

Source:  Amazines.com