If you have a teen driver in your home, he or she may be excited about driving to school during the school year. While a teen driving to school can reduce your own errands in the morning, morning traffic and an inexperienced driver can mean car accidents, pedestrian accidents, and injuries. Here’s how to ensure your teen gets to class safe:

1) Arrange a safe parking spot. Ensure that your teen has their own parking spot near the school. Find a spot that is easy for your teen to back into, given their driving level. Having a parking spot ready ensures that your teen isn’t driving around and around, looking for a parking spot and not focusing on the road.

2) Decide on a route and practice. Have your teen select a route to school and take the car out together on a typical morning to ensure that the route is not too busy. Avoid routes that have heavy traffic, school zones, and other hazards. Time the route and decide when your teen will need to leave to get to schools safely.

3) Get the car checked out. Ensure that the car is safe to drive and will not experience mechanical failure en route to school. Mechanical failure can lead to accidents, especially with a less experienced driver behind the wheel.

4) Limit passengers and errands. It may be tempting to have your teen drop off younger children at school. And your teen may be pressured to give friends a ride to school. At the start, though, limit other passengers. They are a major distraction. In early morning traffic, especially, that can be dangerous.

5) Develop a no-cell phone rule. Ensure that your teens are not texting or calling while driving. This is a major cause of accidents and many teens may not appreciate the dangers of texting and driving.