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When teaching your child how to drive, you anxiously go over safety tips and the rules of the road. You may feel anxiety getting in the passenger seat – your foot tapping or pressing on an invisible brake pedal. You go over properly adjusting the mirrors, the safety belt, and using the turn signal when switching lanes. You even remember to calmly inform her that she needs to brake a little sooner at the next stop sign than she did the last. Thankfully everything went smoothly during the time he had his learner’s permit and now you’re somewhat confident of his abilities to drive on his own.
What you may not have thought about while going over driving tips is how to handle a traffic stop. Many of us don’t even think about traffic stops on a routine basis because they’re not something we regularly dealt with; some of us have never been pulled over. For a teen driver, speeding can be a leading cause for traffic citations.
Going over the rules and etiquette of a traffic stop should be a top priority when discussing what your teen driver may encounter on the road. Being pulled over can be an emotional experience; some people experience anxiety, others become defensive and some may experience any number of other emotions. Knowing these emotions may take over is all the more reason to have a clearcut plan of action when being pulled over and for your teen driver to know how to properly handle the situation.
Teaching your teen safe driving tips should always include how to interact with an officer during a traffic stop. Having a plan of action and remaining polite and honest go a long way toward a smooth, less-stressful situation.
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