While several articles on this site and elsewhere have thoroughly exposed the danger posed by teen drivers to themselves and others on the road, fewer have the steps teens and their parents can take to make driving safer.

For example, some have proposed that the solution for this problem is to “take away the keys” from teen drivers by raising the minimum legal driving age to 21, and thereby take teenagers off the road. That solution is impractical at best. With American families juggling a full plate of responsibilities, many families rely on their teenagers’ abilities to drive themselves to their destinations. Teenagers need to learn to drive sometime, and such a solution would only defer the problem and inconvenience our families.

A more practical solution is for teenagers to be taught proper driving skills, attitudes, and rules, and parents are the key to making this happen. Parents must ensure that their children understand the danger and responsibility inherent in driving and have the necessary skills to drive safely. This includes ensuring that teens receive proper driver’s education and training, establishing clear rules and expectations for driving, linking responsibility to the continued privilege of driving, and lastly, supervision of the teen’s actual driving behavior.

Many parents also choose to use technology to assist in supervising their teen driver’s behavior while behind the wheel. The Witness is one of a number of simple, affordable technologies which permit a parent to determine when and where the vehicle has been driven, if it has exceeded a pre-set speed limit or geographic boundary, and to receive automatic notifications if trouble conditions occur.

While some parents feel reluctant to “spy” on their children, more important is an opportunity to build trust, reinforce good behavior, and above all, keep their children and everyone who shares the road with them a little safer.