Preparing Your Teen for the Road |
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Jason Epstein
August 27, 2010
Jason Epstein
http://www.StraightTalkLaw.com
I understand how dangerous the roads can be particularly if your car is prone to breaking down at inopportune times. At some point every driver is left stranded on the side of the road. Whether it be a flat tire or an overheated engine a broken car can lead to a very dangerous situation when stuck in an intersection or on the side of a busy highway with limited visibility. These types of inopportune circumstances have been known to lead to fatal car accidents for adult drivers and can be even more dangerous for a young driver without the experience or ability to handle the situation. No matter what the car problem there are steps you can take as a parent to help your child be prepared for life’s sticky situations.
Through education and a little forethought you can help your teen be prepared for the roads often unpredictable behavior. In order to help prevent panic familiarize your teen with all common aspects of car maintenance and repair and have them put their skills to practice. If a teen has already changed a tire, or checked and refilled their engine oil they will have little difficulty doing it when the road demands it.
What to Teach: Reviewing common car problems and their symptoms will help your child become more familiar with their vehicle and notice its changes. These symptoms and common problems should be written down and kept in the cars glove box for reference.
Dealing with a Flat Tire
Being new to the road and with little driving experience teens may not know that they have a flat tire. Through experience a driver can tell that the car makes unusual noises and behaves erratically when it has a flat tire. Simply telling your teen how a car responds to a flat tire will make them more alert and can save you the hassle of rim and tire replacement.
Along with recognizing a flat tire a driver must also know how to remove the flat and replace it with the spare tire. Showing your teen all of the tools for replacing the tire and making them practice this a few times will improve their safety and help ensure that you will not have to come to the rescue on a Friday night to change a tire.
Monitoring and Maintaining Tire Pressure
There are common symptoms of low tire pressure that even adults fail to recognize such as the vehicle pulling to one side. Having an unbalanced car can be extremely dangerous particularly in adverse weather conditions.
An easy solution: equip your teen with a tire gauge as well as either a bottle of fix-a-flat or a portable compressor and teach them how to use these. Also be sure to write down the proper PCI for their car in your notebook top keep in the car.
Checking and filing oil:
Maintaining the engine oil can be hectic depending on the vehicles condition and age. Some older vehicles burn through oil at an extraordinary rate making it extremely important to not only monitor the oil on a regular bases, but also to be prepared by keeping a bottle of engine oil in the car. But even if your teen is driving a newer car it is important for them to know where the dipstick is located and how to check and maintain the engine oil as it is the blood of the car and imperative to the car functioning properly.
Maintaining washer fluid
Windshield wiper fluid is important to maintaining proper visibility particularly in the summer when bugs make a mess of a cars windows.
Jump Starting a Car:
Everyone makes the mistake of draining their battery by leaving their lights on- for this reason your car should be equipped with jumper cables and your teen should be instructed on their use.
Filing water:
Without water an engine is bound to overheat- particularly if your teen is driving an older vehicle make sure they are aware of this and prepared with extra water in the trunk.
Common Symptoms and Problems
Engine overheating: Heater will only blow cold air Engine temperature gauge moving beyond mid point Steam or smoke billowing from engine
Empty engine oil: Engine oil is the blood of a vehicle- it keeps all parts in the engine lubricated so they may function- without it the engine parts will create too much friction and cease to work. Because there are no pre-cursing symptoms it is important to maintain the oil regularly.
Flat tire: Rough ride- feels clunky and off balance Car pulls to one side Can hear a clunk
Low tire: Car pulling toward one side Difficulty keeping the vehicle straight on the road
Failing breaks: Breaks will squeak an extreme amount Feel like you are pushing very hard on the breaks and hardly stopping
Safety Tips: Car problems are very dangerous especially on busy roads or during times of poor visibility (night time, rain or snow). Here are some tips to help keep your teen safe while fixing the car or waiting for help.
Preparation:
Accident Kit- An accident kit should be prepared ahead of time and kept in the glove box of the car. This will make it easier for your teen to remember what is necessary in case of an accident as it is easy to forget important steps when in stressful situations.
Camera
-To take pictures of the damage
Personal info sheet
-Prepare pre-done sheets with your name, phone number, address and insurance information
Paper pad and pen
-In the tablet have a written sheet with the information that your teen must collect in a collision…
Name, address, phone number Vehicle make, model and color
License plate number Insurance information
Emergency Kit- an emergency kit should be kept in the vehicle at all times this kit should include:
Jumper cables
Roadside flares
Two quarts of oil
Antifreeze
First aid kit
Flashlight and extra batteries
Flat head screwdrivers
Phillips head screwdrivers
Pliers
Adjustable wrench
Tire inflator (such as a Fix-A-Flat)
Tire pressure gauge
Rags
Duct tape
Washer Fluid
Pocketknife
Ice scraper
Granola or energy bars
Bottled water
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