SHARE THE KEYS DRIVING PROGRAM
PARENTS ARE KEY TO SAFE TEEN DRIVING!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM, PLEASE CONTACT OUR SUMMIT OFFICE: 908.473.0104
Teens whose parents set clear rules and monitor where they are going and with whom in a helpful, supportive way (authoritative) are half as likely to crash and 71 percent less likely to drive intoxicated than teens whose parents are less involved/supportive.
Motor vehicle crashes remain the number one cause of death for teens. Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws are as the single most effective tool for reducing teen driver related crashes, injuries and deaths. While New Jersey’s GDL is considered one of the most progressive and stringent in the United States (Williams et al., 2010), it must be fully understood and supported by parents in order to save lives. To that end, ensuring parents and teens fully understand the risks and responsibilities associated with driving is essential to teen driver safety.
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Five Star Driving School offers the "Share the Keys" program for parents and teens. The program is approximately 60-90 minutes in length, presented by facilitators in community based settings (i.e., schools, libraries) and can be linked to parking permit requirements, classroom driver education orientations and back-to-school nights. The orientation is designed for parents and their teens in the pre-permit/permit stage of licensure (parents and their teens already holding a probationary license will also benefit) and includes a resource guide full of materials that support parental involvement and safe driving behaviors.
SHARE THE KEYS CONTENT IS BASED ON KEY BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES
Understand the Graduated Driver License (GDL) Law
The GDL is a complex law and can be very confusing. Share the Keys offers an overview of the law and its lifesaving components. It also provides easy-to-use reference materials and tools.
Be a Good Role Model
Researchers have found that teens mimic their parent’s driving behaviors. Share the Keys examines the behaviors that have the most potential to influence teen driver safety and encourages parents to become good role models by adopting best practices through interactive exercise.
Effectively Enforce the GDL at Home
Two of the GDL restrictions have the most lifesaving potential; the curfew and passenger restrictions. Forty percent of all teen fatal crashes occur after 9 PM and teens driving with just one passenger have nearly twice the risk of being involved in a fatal crash. Share the Keys presents compelling statistics while offering examples of effective parental enforcement through interactive exercise, role play and the use of driving contracts.
Increase Practice Driving Hours
During the first 12-24 months of driving, teens are at the greatest risk for being involved in a crash. Practice driving is essential in lowering their crash risk but for many parents finding time to practice is a challenge. Share the Keys supports parents with ways to find at least one hour of deliberate practice driving a week and provides tools to support effective driving instruction.
Control the Keys
CHOP’s research revealed that teens who had to request permission to use the car were 50% less likely to be involved in crashes when compared to teens who had primary access. Drivers whose parents controlled the keys were also less likely to violate the provisions of the GDL. Share the Keys introduces this best practice and encourages parents to controlling the keys.
Every 11 minutes a Teen Driver crashes.
PARENTS REALLY DO MATTER
Parents may have a false sense of confidence in their new driver, especially when they have successfully instilled good values that their child has demonstrated by making good decisions.
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What we’re learning is that those values and good decisions don’t always make their way into the car. Young drivers may not make the same connection between the choices they are making in the car and the consequence of even one wrong decision.
Teens Describing Parents that support, set rules and monitor:
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Half as Likely to Crash
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71% Less Likely to Drive While Intoxicated
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30% Less Likely to Use a Cell Phone While Driving
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Twice as Likely to Wear Seat Belts
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Twice as Likely to Believe Belts Affect Safety
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Speed Half as Often
There are 11 deaths each day involving young drivers.