Download Article      Sample Teen Driving Contract

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    ParentingTeenDrivers.com
    DriveHomeSafe.com

Teen Driving Contracts...
Don't Let Your Teenager Drive Without One!

For the last 15 years or so, experts have been urging parents to create for themselves and their teenage drivers, agreements that explain what to expect when the automobile is driven responsibly and unfortunately, which is the case too often, when the automobile is driven irresponsibly.

Commonly called "Teen Driving Contracts", these easy to create documents really do help save lives.

Hi, I'm James Winfield, President and CEO of DriveHomeSafe.com. And I encourage you to do a teen driving contract with your teen driver if you haven't. I did.

Experts give a ton of good reasons why you and your teenager should go for it by agreeing to do one (and signing it).

When it came time for my teenagers to learn how to drive an automobile, nothing said better or made clearer than a teen driving contract, what was expected of me, my wife, and my teenagers.

Looking back, putting the contract together was an interesting test of wills. Not only that, it was fun.

Being the typically "scared" parent I was, I tried to pack and stack it full with every imaginable clause I could think of that said "if this happens, your driving privileges are suspended".

My teens on the other hand, fought equally hard for me to "trust" them and "lighten up". In the end, we came up with an agreement all could live with.

Because of our experience, we at DriveHomeSafe.com are major supporters of teen driving contracts for parents and teen drivers. I mean this in all sincerity, don't let your teenager drive without one.

My wife and I confidently feel the teen driving contract we crafted with our teen drivers helped keep them safe.

As far as my teenagers were concerned, having rules laid out in black and white made their lives a lot less miserable. They said it kept me from "freaking out" over what they called the "small stuff". Of course, I sweated the small stuff anyway, I just didn't overreact.

We get 1000s of visitors to Drive Home Safe a month and a bunch of emails a day from parents and teenagers asking our advice what to do or how to handle teen driving. In my opinion, putting in place a "Teen Driving Safety Contract" is at the top of the priority list.

Here's the surprising part of the process, doing it will be one of the most revealing and thought provoking experiences you may go through with your teen driver. Maybe not on the scale of trying to understand the music your teen listens to, but definitely on the fulfillment level of dealing with your teenager as a pre-adult.

Rather than put on the internet the contract we created with our teenagers, which they said I would be disowned if I published, Drive Home Safe.com organized for you (in the right-hand column), some of the best advice and sample teen safety contracts on the world wide web.

You'll find contracts detailing every conceivable situation your teenager might encounter while others will only cover the minimum basics.

Dr. Dale Wisely's web site is probably the best in my opinion. He's a child psychologist by profession and does a good job explaining "why" have a contract. Check it out. Like I said, it's probably the best on the web when it comes to teen driving contracts.

In addition to that, remember that it takes more than just a "Teen Driving Contract" to help keep your teen driver safe. Take some time to review how you may use your computer to know when your teenager drives the automobile in a manner you don't approve. To know more about that, click here.

Also, look over one of the best at-home teen driver "training and instruction" programs available on video tape. Click here for more information about this special teen driver training program.