Taking the Wheel
"Letting your child drive is the most gut-wrenching privilege you'll ever give her. You're putting her in control of a two-ton piece of machinery that can kill her or other people instantly."
Although Arthur Moebius, MD, counsels parents about this major transition in his office at West Chester Pediatrics, he's not speaking hypothetically. He sat in the passenger seat, giving advice, as each of his three older children learned to drive, and is completing his final tutorial now with his 15-year-old daughter.
"In Ohio, children can drive at 15 1/2 with a parent in the front seat, and I agree with that," he says. "The more time children spend behind the wheel with a parent in the car, the more experience they have. The more experience, the safer."
Greater Cincinnati has seen a terrible toll on the roads already this year, with 12 teens dying in 11 car crashes between February 14 and April 23. Many of the young drivers had moving violations on their records before the fatalities.
"This is about parental responsibility. Are parents willing to take the driving privilege away if the child abuses it?" Again, Dr. Moebius speaks from experience: When his son was tagged with a speeding ticket, he revoked his son's license for a month.
Is Your Child Ready to Drive?
To Dr. Moebius, teen driving is a two-way street, with responsibilities for both parent and child. Here are his tips for assessing a teen's readiness and a parent's seriousness.
Is my child ready to drive?
"Does your child have a sense of maturity and responsibility, for himself and others? Is she strong enough to take control? Or do you see
her doing things because of peer pressure? A child must be strong-willed enough to be self-determining behind the wheel."How do I help my child prepare?
"Start in the driveway, backing up and down. Let the child get familiar with the controls, so she can find them without looking. Many accidents are caused by the driver looking away from the road.
"Start on empty streets. Gradually increase the intensity of the drive as the teen gets more experience. Make sure the child feels reasonably comfortable with driving before he goes to a professional driving instructor," Dr. Moebius advises.Do I really need to spend 50 hours with my teen driver?
Absolutely. "In Ohio, a teen has to have those 50 hours, yet I've seen parents sign the form even when they didn't happen. It's an honor system. Those parents aren't taking driving seriously enough."Should I set limitations?
"For the first six months, our children could only have one other person in the car. There's a definite correlation: The chances of a fatal crash increase with each additional child in the car," he explains. Parents should also set time and distance limits for new drivers, and outlaw distractions such as eating, talking on a cell phone or reading at the wheel. "You'd be amazed what people do," Dr. Moebius says.How do I mandate seat belts?
"Of all the teens who died in those crashes, not one had a seat belt on," Dr. Moebius says. "With our children, the driver is responsible for everyone wearing a seat belt. If we found out otherwise, the child lost driving privileges for a week. When they drive up and you're in the yard, go look in the car. Or set up a buddy system with other parents."What if my teen driver gets a ticket?
"Have the strength to stop the child driving. It's a lot more work driving that child everywhere, but your teen has to know the seriousness of this. Parents have to be willing to do what's right."
