Your child may have just started learning to drive in the summer. They were able to learn the flow of traffic and avoid any dangers the road may have, but fall weather can bring in tons of new hazards your teen hasn’t experienced yet.
Next time your teen goes for a drive, you may need to warn them of the dangers of driving in the fall. Here’s what they should know:
Keeping an eye out for animals
No one teaches wild animals traffic safety rules, so year-round, animals are running out into the street causing car accidents. It can be especially hard for teen drivers to see wild animals in the fall when animals blend in with the brown, red and orange surroundings.
Wet leaves
Your teen is likely used to solid, dry roads from the summer, but when fall hits, they may have a harder time keeping traction on the road. Many roads are going to be covered in wet leaves, especially on days when leaf pickup trucks haven’t shown up.
Foggy mornings
As the season changes from summer to fall, the weather is getting a lot wetter and colder, which means your child may have to drive in the fog. You may need to teach your teen to turn on their fog lights and slow down their speed. Turning on high beams may make it easier to see in the fog, but it could blind other drivers, leading to a car crash. It can be hard to stop a car from hitting another vehicle in time when they can only see a few feet ahead.
Driving at night
The night is going to show up a lot sooner during the fall. Many teens are used to driving during the day, but driving at night comes with its own trivialities. It can be harder to see other drivers at night, but not only that, animals, potholes and wet leaves may not be easily seen during the night – any one of these could cause serious head or spine injuries.
If your teenager was recently in a car accident and suffering from injuries, you may need to reach out for legal help.