Safe Young Drivers: A Guide for Parents and Teens [Spiral-bound]

Phil Berardelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 2008

Sixteen is by far the most dangerous age on the road. A 16-year-old is twelve times as likely as older drivers to die in a crash as a single occupant. Put two young teens in a vehicle, and the odds of death and injury nearly double. Three or four unsupervised teens riding together constitute a recipe for disaster. Despite these sobering facts, the procedure for obtaining a drivers license in most states remains minimal. Some don't even require a learner's permit. Some allow the permit to be obtained before age 16. Although some states have installed graduated licensing, with sensible restrictions for the youngest drivers, many still impose only the most minimal requirements. The condition of formal driver education in America is no better. A small number of high schools operate relatively comprehensive programs that require parental involvement. But most have cut back driver ed. classes to the point where they can accommodate only a small portion of students. Even the lucky ones receive only a few hours of behind-the-wheel instruction. Commercial driving schools, even the most competent and conscientious among them, cannot possibly provide complete instruction. Safe Young Drivers helps to address this enormous problem. It is an indispensable guide for teaching teens to drive. Written by Phil Berardelli, a father and former teacher who understands this often frustrating - and potentially dangerous - passage into adulthood, Safe Young Drivers is intended for parents and teens to use together. Each new lesson addresses parental issues, such as how to choose a car for your teen, and provides teens with simple instruction and important tips to remember. With simple graphics, a complete index, and a section called Some ABC's for the Road - a mini-encyclopedia for teens - Safe Young Drivers offers a valuable tool for all new drivers and their teachers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the best investments you'll make in your child's life... This is a book that every parent trying to teach a teenager to drive ought to read. This is not just a safe-driving manual: It is about the relationship between parents and teenagers and how teaching our children to drive can strengthen that relationship. It is also about the relationship we have with other drivers -- and that's a notion that mindlessly aggressive 'adult' drivers could contemplate as well. --Judy Mann, columnist, The Washington Post

The book is clearly the product of a man who not only has affection and understanding for young people, but also for cars and driving... Berardelli provides clear, well-considered advice, organized in a way that lets the author speak plainly with both parents and teens... Obviously, this is a man who has been there. Safe Young Drivers is a recommended resource for any parent; I'll use it in teaching my own teens. --Kevin Wilson, Executive Editor, AutoWeek

This is an invaluable book you absolutely must read before you allow your teenager behind the wheel of a car. --Dr. Laura Schlessinger

About the Author

Phil Berardelli is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience. He has covered such topics as energy, science, education and popular culture as well as highway safety. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and many other newspapers and magazines. He was an editor at McGraw-Hill, Time-Life and United Press International. His background also includes several years as a middle-school teacher and six years as producer and co-host of a weekly television program, The Moviegoing Family, which appeared in the Washington, D.C., area and nationally on The Learning Channel. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he has lived in Northern Virginia since 1970.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 176 pages
• Publisher: Mountain Lake Press; 4th edition (June 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981477313
• ISBN-13: 978-0981477312
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #915,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Driver's Education

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELENT AID to TEACHING YOUR KID to DRIVE, November 30, 1999

By 

Carol M. Imhoff (Oceanside Ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Safe Young Drivers : A Guide for Parents and Teens (Spiral-bound)

This is an excelent guide to teacing your new driver how to drive. I covers all the facets of driving. I, as a Ca. DMV Licsened Driving Instructor, recomend this book to anybody who is going to take on the challenge of teaching their "NEW DRIVER," wheather young or old, to buy and read this book. The format is great. Phil (the author) does a great job of teaching the Licensed Driver to teach the person w/a Learner's Permit to drive. It is written in a format where one section is to the instructor, (parent,) and another is to the 'Teen,' (student) in language that is easy to understand. Get one, and you will love it. Carol,

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super! A great tool for parents. Easy to use and logical., November 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Safe Young Drivers : A Guide for Parents and Teens (Spiral-bound)

I just saw Mr. Berardelli interviewed on The Today Show and what he had to say makes so much sense. It is up to parents to tackle this incredibly important job of teaching our teenagers to drive. It could be a matter of life and death for them. This book makes it easy and every parent should read it and use it.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great dialog tool for you with your teen, January 17, 2002

By 

Dr. Nancy Dailey (Rixeyville, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Safe Young Drivers: A Guide for Parents and Teens (Spiral-bound)

Berardelli does a great job of coaching parents on 1) how to cope with teaching your teen to drive, and 2) how to engage your teen to see the responsibility and honor having a drivers license really is. My book is a bit tattered. I have 3 teen boys, 2 with licenses. I used his suggestions, particularly the 100-hour lesson log, to negotiate expectations for driving in our family. My husband and I take teaching our kids to drive very seriously. We have not delegated it to the school or a driving instructor. Cars are just too fast, too many drivers are either ignorant of the laws of physics or don't think they apply to them in their cars, and we all just make mistakes on the road. My sons attend a rural, private high school with @160 students. In the past 4 years, 2 teens have died in car crashes. It's the greatest fear I have, not random terrorism.
I highly recommend this book as a dialog tool with your teen. I have used it as a "mediator" of sorts, turning to it to stop arguements about driving techniques with my sons. Every high school driving instructor should distribute this book to all their parents!