Crashproof Your Kids Make Your Teen a Safer, Smarter Driver

chapter 1 The Crashproof Plan Essentials Fortune favors the prepared mind.Louis Pasteur Here's what happensin less than a secondwhen a car traveling 55 mph hits a stationary object: 0.1 second:The front bumper and grille of the car collapse. If the car has an air bag, it has already inflated. 0.2 second:The hood crumples, rises, and strikes the windshield as the rear wheels lift off the ground. The fender wraps around the struck object. 0.3 second:The driver's legs jam under the dashboard and break, while the steering wheel heads for the driver's chest. 0.4 second:The car's wrecked front end comes to a stop, but the car's rear is still rushing forward, and the driver's body is still traveling at 55 mph. 0.5 second:If the car is not equipped with an air bag, the driver is smashed against the steering wheel, crushing arteries and lungs. 0.6 second:The driver's feet are ripped out of their shoes. The brake pedal snaps off, and the car's frame buckles in the middle. Without an air bag, the driver's head smashes into the windshield. 0.7 second:The passenger door rips loose, and the rear doors fly open. The front seat rams forward, pinning the driver further against the steering wheel shaft and dashboard, as the backseat breaks free and strikes the driver, who may already be dead. Sometimes we need a jolting reminder of why effective driver training is so important and how shockingly fast lives can change forever. We have a collective blind spot in North America when it comes to the importance of training teen drivers. The training requirements for driver licensure are much less comprehensive than for other, far less hazardous activities. Consider that in the state of Illinois, an apprentice plumber is required to put in a minimum of 1,500 to 1,600 hours of supervised training in the first year. To become a licensed journeyman plumber, someone will typically spend 6,400 hours of in-field training and 800 to 1,000 hours of classroom work over a four-year period. Yet, with the possible exception of a cardiac arrest when a customer sees the bill, plumbers don't frequently kill or injure themselves or anyone else while fixing leaky pipes. It's clear that many of our training and licensure requirements are out of whack when compared to the risk factors associated with them. Teen driver training requirements in the United States are also far less rigorous than in many other countries. In Germany, obtaining a driver's license is possible only after turning 18, completing 24 hours of class work, logging 20 hours of driving with a certified driving instructor, passing a rigorous test (which is failed by more than half the takers), and paying more than $2,000. Then you get a two-year probationary license. More rigorous training has proven to pay off, too. In Australia, road safety organizations recommend at least 120 hours of parental-supervised driving, and Australian crash rates are substantially lower than in the United States. Swedish research indicates that teens with an average of 118 hours of supervised driving had 35 percent fewer crashes after licensure than those with an average of 44 hours of supervised experience. Sweden and Great Britain, which require comprehensive driver training, both have auto fatality rates less than half that of the United States. Despite these facts, many parents assume that traditional driver education programs are sufficient and provide enough training to make a major impact on their teens' driving ability and future safety. They're dead wrong. With limited hours of classroom and behind-the-wheel time, only traffic regulations and the fundamentals of car control can be covered.Smith, Timothy C. is the author of 'Crashproof Your Kids Make Your Teen a Safer, Smarter Driver', published 2006 under ISBN 9780743277112 and ISBN 0743277112.