• Home
  • New? Start Here
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Real Mom Life

  • Purpose and Passion
    • Planners
    • Purpose and passion
    • Reinvention
    • Retirement
    • Starting a business
    • Volunteering
    • Working
    • Trying new things
    • Ageism
    • Giving back
    • Confidence
    • Encore careers
    • Encouragement
    • Gratitude
    • Happiness
    • Inspiration
    • Lifelong Learning
  • Adventure
    • Travel
    • Technology
    • Trying new things
    • Books and movies
    • Embracing change
    • Fun
    • Holidays
    • Pets
  • Relationships
    • Marriage
    • Friendships
    • Parenting
    • Painful parenting
    • Mothering
    • Grandparenting
    • Aging parents
    • Empty nest
    • Cancer caregiving
    • Child adoption
    • Homeschooling
    • Special needs kids
    • Life skills for kids
    • Activities for kids
  • Health and Beauty
    • Alternative health practices
    • Fashion
    • Hair care
    • Health insurance
    • Healthy aging
    • Healthy brain
    • Makeup
    • Medical issues
    • Mental health
    • Sexuality
    • Skin care
    • Sleep
    • Stress
    • Nutrition
    • Physical fitness
    • Self-care
  • Creativity and Spirituality
    • Faith
    • Crafts
    • Hobbies
    • Art journaling
    • Blogging
    • Journaling
    • Jewelry making
    • Writing
  • Home and Finances
    • Cleaning
    • Cooking and food
    • Declutter
    • Decor
    • DIY Home
    • Downsize
    • Gardening
    • Holidays
    • Organizing
    • Saving money
    • Simplify
  • Coffee Love
  • Rants, Raves and Reviews
  • Bucket List
  • Store

Newly Driving Teens: What To Do When They’re In A Crash

December 31, 2019 By Christine Field

This post may contain affiliate links.

There is not one parent out there who is happy about the idea of their teenager driving. The vision of your teenager – who can barely pick up his own socks and add them to the hamper – behind the wheel of a machine? Inconceivable. And yet parents everywhere buy driving lessons, finance cars and get their teenagers driving as early as possible

Driving is quite possibly the most dangerous activity that any of us ever do. With the statistics showing that the number of deaths and injuries on the road is rising, it’s no wonder that most parents are a panic soup when their teenager gets behind the wheel of the car! As responsible adults, we do our best to drive responsibly, defensively and safely on the road, but teenagers have a little less fear than we do. They are excited, enamored at the freedom which driving affords. They’re less smart on the road because they don’t fully appreciate the dangers ahead. It doesn’t mean that they’re total idiots who are weaving in and out, but the figures speak for themselves. Teenagers are often in car crashes, and it’s important to help yours to learn what to do if it happens to them.

teens and accidents

Image Source

As a parent, it’s up to you to impart to your teenager what to do in the event of a car crash. It’s not just about them seeking a car accident lawyer near me after the fact, but how to handle themselves in the middle of the car accident scene. Some of the tips that you can give them include:

 

  1. Taking some deep breaths in a crash is vital. Shock is a big reaction to a car crash, and whether it’s a rear-ender or someone has skimmed the side, calm is key to survival. No matter the seriousness of the accident that your teenager is in, you need them to stay as calm as possible.
  2. If they are in an accident and friends are in the car, they need to keep themselves and their passengers safe. If it’s not safe for them to get out of the car, they need to keep their seatbelt on and then turn on their hazard lights. If they are able to, calling 911 comes next.
  3. Whether there are injuries or not, 911 still needs to be called. Tell them to try to move the car to a spot away from the crash that is safe on the road, such as the shoulder of the highway. If it’s not possible to move the car, setting up safety cones can warn other drivers of the accident that has occurred.

 

After The Accident

While shock is definitely an emotion that your teenager will feel after an accident, they may also have other injuries that need to be checked. So, you need to get them to follow the steps below to ensure everyone is safe.

 

Check For Injuries

As the responsible driver, your teenager needs to check everyone for injuries following the crash. If they are unable to move, but can speak, get them to ask out loud to hear that everyone can still speak. Calling 911 will be the next step and they’ll need to answer questions as to who is in the car, what’s happened and where the crash has taken place. Let them know to stay on the line until the dispatcher has hung up – it’s important!

 

Take Down Driver Information

If your teenager is okay to move after a crash, they need to try and get the information from the other driver. They’ll need their name, address and license plate number as well as insurance information. If it’s possible, have them write everything down that happens and take photos of the crash. Not every car crash is a fatal one, but the information is still important to know.

Image Source

Dealing With Emotions After

A car crash can put your teenager off of driving for a while, and while this is okay, it’s important that they don’t develop a fear of driving because of the incident that has occurred. It is important for your to recognize when their fear is actually post-traumatic stress disorder and when it’s a simple fear. PTSD can be life-altering, and a course of therapy can and will make a difference to your teenager. The signs can be immediate, or they can show up months after the crash has occurred. Some of the signs to look out for incIude:

 

  • Avoiding emotions or conversation about the accident
  • Anxiety, nervousness, anger and crankiness
  • Avoiding any hospital investigations
  • Reliving the accident over and over
  • Trouble sleeping

 

Ensuring that your teenager has the right support after an accident is so important, whether this support comes from just you, from therapy or a combination of both. Car driving clubs can be a big help to gaining back their confidence on the road after an accident. You should also consider the other issues that your teenager can get into on the road that don’t involve a crash. These can include things like flat tires, breakdowns on highways and mechanical issues with the car. Enrolling your teenager in an auto shop class so that they can learn how to change oil, water, gas and even make minor fixes on their cars is important for the event that they get stranded on the road. Don’t be afraid to push this on your teenager – they need to learn how to manage their car if they are going to be responsible for it.

Expecting some bad or dismissive behavior after a crash is a must: your teenager will have gone through a trauma and it’s you that can be the person that helps them to get through it once more. The right counseling, support and encouragement can make a difference to their ability to get back behind the wheel. Don’t be afraid to help them to move through the trauma and retake their driving education if necessary. Accidents are scary – be there for them as much as possible.

Filed Under: Adult children Tagged With: teens and car accidents

Previous Post: « Top Kids’ Trikes For Sale
Next Post: Make Up Your Mind Day »

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

FacebookInstagrammailPinterestYouTubeTwitter

Hi, I’m Christine

Have you been a wholehearted mother, but time, toddlers and teenagers have moved on? If you are wondering what comes next for you, you’ll feel right at home here.

Or, are you a mom for whom family life has been non-Pinworthy and parenting has been downright painful? I hear ya. There are many of us around.

Are you looking for a life full of exploration and adventure after the nest empties, but maybe you have no idea how to go about doing that? Stick around! We’ll explore adventures together to help you gain more clarity for your own path.

After a couple decades of writing books and articles about parenting, homeschooling and adoption, speaking to homeschoolers and other parent groups, and reaching out to the mom in the trenches who was trying to make the best of it - my kids grew up. Some grew up and grew away. I was determined to find a way out of the pain, emptiness and lack of direction.

For many of us, the journey starts with something we moms are not accustomed to. After years of caring for and serving others, sometimes we forget the beauty and wonder of US. We need to spend some time getting to know the parts of ourselves that have lain dormant, and take the time to explore interests and passions that we set aside.

I’d like to invite you to get the “What’s Next for Mom” workbook and jump into this growing tribe of Moms who are emptying the nest and filling the life! Let’s reignite your Mojo after Mothering!
Read More…

Visit my Amazon Influencer Storefront

www.amazon.com/shop/christine.field.7505

Search the Blog

Want to Search For Something?

Disclosure and Privacy Policy

Real Mom Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

 

Cookie policy

This website will store some information about your preferences on your own computer inside a tiny file called a cookie.  A cookie is a small piece of data that a website asks your browser to store on your computer or mobile device. The cookie allows the website to remember your actions or preferences over time.

You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer, and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed. However, if you do this, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site, and some services and functionalities may not work.

Most browsers support cookies, but you can set your browser to decline them and can delete them whenever you like. You can find instructions here for how you can do that on various browsers.

This website uses cookies to

1) Identify you as a returning user and to count your visits in traffic statistics analysis

2) Remember your custom display preferences (such as whether you prefer comments to display all-collapsed or not)

3) Suggest any recent searches you’ve made on our site

4) Provide other usability features, including tracking whether you’ve already given your consent to cookies

Enabling cookies is not strictly necessary for the website to work but it will provide you with a better browsing experience.

The cookie-related information is not used to identify you personally and is not used for any purpose other than those described here.

There may also be other types of cookies created after you’ve visited this website. This site uses Google Analytics, a popular web analytics service that uses cookies to help to analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of another website, compiling reports on website activity, and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google undertakes not to associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.

Third Party Advertising

This site has third-party advertising companies serving ads to you when you visit. These companies may store information about your visits here and to other websites in order to provide you with relevant advertisements about goods and services. For example, if they know what ads you are shown while visiting this site, they can be careful not to show you the same ones repeatedly.

These companies may employ cookies and other identifiers to gather information which measures advertising effectiveness. The information is generally not personally identifiable unless, for example, you provide personally identifiable information to them through an ad or an email message.

They do not associate your interaction with unaffiliated sites with your identity in providing you with interest-based ads.

This site does not provide any personal information to advertisers or to third party sites. Advertisers and other third-parties (including the ad networks, ad-serving companies, and other service providers they may use) may assume that users who interact with or click on a personalized ad or content are part of the group that the ad or content is directed towards (for example, readers in the Pacific Northwest who read certain types of articles). Also, some third-party cookies may provide them with information about you (such as the sites where you have been shown ads or demographic information) from offline and online sources that they may use to provide you more relevant and useful advertising.

To learn more about what options you have about limiting the gathering of information by third-party ad networks, you can consult the website of the Network Advertising Initiative.

You can opt out of participating in interest-based advertising networks, but opting out does not mean you will no longer receive online advertising. It does mean that the companies from which you opted out will no longer customize ads based on your interests and web usage patterns using cookie-based technology.

Sharing Information

This site does not sell, rent, or disclose to outside parties the information collected here, except as follows:

(a) Affiliated Service Providers: This site has agreements with various affiliated service providers to facilitate the functioning of the site. For example, the site may share your credit card information with the credit card service provider to process your purchase. All administrative service providers that this site uses are required to have the same level of privacy protection as this site does, and therefore your information will be handled with the same level of care. Additionally, for example, this site may use analytic or marketing services such as Google Analytics, Google Adsense, Taboola, or RevContent, to which collection you hereby unconditionally consent.

(b) Where required by law: This site may share the collected information where required by law, specifically in response to a demand from government authorities where such demand meets the legal requirements.

(c) Statistical Analysis: This site may share Non-Personal Information and aggregated information with third parties, including but not limited to for advertising or marketing purposes. No Personal Information will be shared in this manner.

(d) Transactions: In connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing or acquisition, or in any other situation where Personal Information may be disclosed or transferred as a business asset.

How To Opt Out Of Interest-Based Advertising


Opting Out of Interest-Based Advertising Services: This website is a member of the Network Advertising Initiative(NAI) and adheres to the NAI Codes of Conduct as described on the NAI website. This website also adheres to the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Self-Regulatory Principles. For a description of the DAA Program, please visit the DAA website.

Opting Out of Interest-Based Advertising by Third Parties: To find out more about interest-based advertising on the internet and how to opt out of information collection for this purpose by companies that participate in the Network Advertising Initiative or the Digital Advertising Alliance, visit NAI’s opt-out page or DAA’s Consumer Choice Page.

 

Footer

About Christine

FacebookInstagrammailPinterestYouTubeTwitter

At Real Mom Life, my passion is to provide resources and reassurances for moms facing the surprising challenges of family life. In my writing and speaking, I explore solutions to unexpected issues in adoption, homeschooling, special needs, and more while encouraging moms to extract the maximum joy out of each day. Read More…

Real Mom Life

Real Mom Life

10339 S. Kostner Ave.

                              Oak Lawn, IL 60453

 

Copyright © 2023 Real Mom Life on the Foodie Pro Theme