I’ve got my driver’s license, now

what?
The first year of driving is a high-risk period for the beginner.
Inexperience combined with a lack of skill means that one in five
male 16-year old drivers and about one in ten females will have an
accident during their first year of driving.

Some of the worst accidents occur at night and with a group of

young people in the car. If alcohol or any other kind of impairment
is involved the risk in this situation is magnified several times.

Some supervision during the first year or two will help reduce risk.
It’s a good idea to keep track of the kinds of driving situation your
teen has experienced and to gradually work in new ones (for
example, night driving, rain, snow, freeways, heavy traffic, passing
on the open highway, and so on). Watch for the accumulation of
bad habits such as forgetting to signal, sloppy turns, speeding,
sudden changes in speed or direction, lack of alertness.

Safe driving is very much a matter of seeing what needs to be seen

and making good decisions, but this is not simple to achieve.
Experience and training play a major role in ensuring that a driver’s
eyes will look in the right places at the right time. The new driver’s
biggest enemy is the complacency that comes from early success at
learning driving basics. Parents’ role is to help their teen overcome
that complacency and continue to build driving skills after licensing.