seattle teen auto accident prevention

Keep Your Teen Safe on Washington Streets: Tips for Parents

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on December 24, 2012

Learning to drive is a major rite of passage into adulthood for many Washington teens, but it also increases their risk of suffering injury in a car accident. Because teens lack experience behind the wheel, they are more likely to make the wrong choice in a split-second emergency decision, increasing their accident risk.

Parents can help their teens get driving experience in a safe way and reduce the risk of car accidents by implementing a few simple tips.

• Increase experience. Because experience is key to safe driving, you may wish to extend your teen’s supervised driving time beyond the hours required by Washington’s graduated driver program. Added hours of nighttime driving and driving in bad weather can also help your teen practice important safe-driving skills. Read the rest »

Governors’ Highway Safety Association Considers Graduated Licensing for Driver Safety

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on November 6, 2012

Learning to drive and receiving that first driver’s license are key rites of passage in the lives of U.S. teens. But the inexperience of teen drivers increases many of the risks they face on the road, any of which can lead to a serious accident.

In order to help protect teen drivers and get them the skills they need to stay safe, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) recently commented on plans by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to encourage graduated driver’s licensing programs in all 50 states. Read the rest »