Keys2Drive The AAA Guide to Teen Driver Safety
Key Points for Safe Driving

Key Points for Safe Driving

Take the Keys, Accept the Consequences

Driving isn’t a right. It’s a privilege licensed by the state. Pass the tests and drive safely? Keep the privilege. Crash, break laws or do other unsafe things behind the wheel? Lose your license.
 

Don’t Pressure Your Parents for a Car

Motor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for young people, and teens who have a vehicle reserved for their use are twice as likely to have a crash as teens who share a car with family members. So focus on learning to drive well now and talk with your parents about getting your own vehicle after you’ve gotten more experience.
 
 
  

Keep Working With Your Parents

Recent studies show that teens are more successful drivers — with fewer tickets and less dangerous driving — when their parents are involved for at least the first year of the learning-to-drive process. So keep practicing together, follow your parent-teen driving agreement rules and talk to your parents.
 

It May Take Longer Than You Expect

It takes about five years to reach the skill levels of most drivers. Passing your driving test doesn’t mean you have gained all the skills you need for safe driving. And overconfidence can put you at higher risk for a crash, too.
 

A Word about SAFE

 
SAFE ~ Seatbelts Are For Everyone
A cooperative effort sponsored by AAA Kansas and the Kansas Department of Transportation to increase restraint compliance through positive rewards and strong enforcement messages
 
Kansas seatbelt facts:
  • If the driver is belted … the child is belted 92% of the time.
  • If the driver is NOT belted … the child is belted only 23% of the time.

"Recently, I was dispatched to the scene of a rollover crash with one occupant. The vehicle was still resting on its top when I arrived. The driver was sitting alongside the roadway being helped by a passerby. I could see obvious injuries to her arm as there was blood around the elbow and hand. I recognized her as a 17-year-old who attends high school with my daughter. I asked, 'Were you wearing your seatbelt?' She looked at me and said, 'You know I was, Sandy, I attended your Seatbelts are For Everyone class.' I followed the ambulance to the hospital and waited until her mom arrived. Mom told me she always wears her seatbelt now, and she makes sure everybody else does, too. Had she not been wearing her seatbelt, this teen would have suffered serious injuries or died." — Sheriff Sandy Horton, Crawford County, Kansas

The SAFE program is expanding to high schools in other Kansas counties. Find out more about a SAFE event near you.
 
 

Additional resources:

  • Parent-Teen Driving Agreement – Signing a formal agreement with your parents helps in multiple ways.
  • Becoming a New Driver – Designed for teens, this brochure outlines tips and responsibilities of being a safe driver.
  • AAA StartSmart – A series of newsletters that address the challenges teens face when learning to drive.
  • DMV Practice Questions – Take this sample test to determine if you’re ready to take the state driving test. 
  • Driver-ZED – Offered by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Driver-ZED is a computer-based program to help you practice driving on your PC.  
  • SAFE Events – "Seatbelts are for Everyone" is a cooperative effort sponsored by AAA Kansas and the Kansas Department of Transportation to increase restraint compliance through positive rewards and strong enforcement messages.