My husband and I regularly talk to our kids about safe driving. We discuss driver responsibility, different road conditions, and influential teenage passengers. Most of the time my kids find this discussion unnecessary and annoying, but last week they realized why it is such an important topic.

Two separate car accidents in the high school parking lot sent students to the hospital.  Both accidents involved teenage drivers. Both were very traumatic. Not only did the accidents cause physical pain, but the young drivers were also affected by the trauma of the accidents.

Accidents can happen anywhere. I called Mountain View High School, the largest high school in the state, to ask about their accident rate and preventive measures. I spoke with an administrator who told me there was only one accident (with injuries) last year. He said schools do their best to design parking lots to allow traffic flow while also minimizing the ability to speed.

Maybe we have to accept that accidents are inherent when hundreds of teenage drivers are flowing in and out of a school parking lot daily. Hopefully kids and parents alike, can learn from accidents like these. We spent time talking with our kids about responsible driving and safety. We also spoke to them about being aware of their surroundings and being a good passenger.

How do you talk to your kids about vehicle safety?