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By Elizabeth M. Hachet

As children grow into teenagers, it can be a stressful time: teens feel as if they’re adults, but still a kid. It’s a time of growing, stretching, and reaching. It’s an amazing time, and it’s a time of letdowns.

It also comes with very scary words for parents: “Teen driving.”

If you’re like most parents, your teen has mentioned, or hinted, teen driving. Or if they haven’t said anything, they’re thinking about it and you’re thinking about it. For most states, the legal age of driving is 16, as long as they have a permit and six months’ driving time when they’re 15.

Or, if you’re a teen, you’ve hinted to your parents about teen driving, you’re drooling over getting your parents to sign over the car. You’ve studied for the test, you’re ready, you’re willing—and you’re exited! You have the car you want planned down to a molecule; and you’re exited. You just hope you can pay cash for the whole thing.

As long as there are rules in the United States of America stating that teens can drive at 15½ or 16, there will always be fights over who gets to drive the family car and when. There will also be fights over the rights to when the teen gets to drive the car.

Can your teen drive in snowy weather? Can they drive late at night? What time do they have to be back? Where are they allowed to drive the car? What about cell phone use while driving? (And what about texting while driving?) Always check on the laws on your state for the last two before you decide what’s fair.

Whatever you decide on what’s fair, there should be some basic ground rules in play, for very basic safety reasons: for example, if you don’t feel your teenager is safe driving on winter roads, then you need to state so. Some would suggest making a legally binding contract, so both you and your teens know what the rules are on driving.

There are many places where you can get safety devices for your car, which protect both the teenagers and the parents. Some parents feel the need to know where their child is every minute; some feel the need to check up on them every few hours. It depends on you, your teenager, and personality.

Some companies offer GPS tracking devices. There are many different opinions on tracking devices. It’s helpful to parents who simply wish to check on where the car is (is it on 9355 S High? What about 1234 Wellston Street?) or to those who just want to make sure it hasn’t wrecked.

It can be helpful to teens as well. Although some will feel as though it’s a form of restriction it can also be very freeing. If you didn’t have to check in with your parents because you placed the GPS tracking device on the car, would you find that freeing?

There are also GPS devices that help you find your way around and at the same time you can track your teenager to make sure they are safe. If you’re always getting lost, it’s very helpful to be able to type in an address: “9989 Salami Street”, and have the GPS device take you there. Of course, you’ll still have to drive the car, but it would give you directions.

Placing a GPS tracking device on the car might also be very helpful in case you’re worried about your car getting stolen. If you need to know where it is, it’s as simple as tracking it. If you fear it’s been stolen, you can report it to the police and show them your device.

If you’re a teen and you’re worried about people stealing your car (or one of your friends ‘borrowing’ it), you can do the same thing. It’s an awesome way to know where the car is at all times—and a huge relief if the car should happen to get stolen.

Whether you are a teenager or a parent, teen driving is a scary yet exiting time. (If you’re a teen, you’ve probably heard “SWERVE LEFT NOT RIGHT” one too many times; if you’re a parent, you’re probably clutching the dashboard and hoping they don’t wreck.) It’s a time of freedom and exploration, but every teen should be accompanied by an adult or monitored by GPS for the first year of driving.

DRIVE SAFLEY!