Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving

Hollister, whose son, Reid, was killed in a 2006 car crash at age 17, subsequently served on a Connecticut task force on teen driving laws, and has become a national spokesperson and blogger on the subject of safer teen driving. This book, he notes, is “unique and somewhat odd,” as it doesn’t address how to teach a teen to drive. Nevertheless, it’s an invaluable resource for parents, with a focus on ample supervision and risk control. Hollister explains why there is “no such thing” as a safe teen driver; the adolescent brain is not fully developed—a reality that only experience and physical growth can remedy. However, there are steps that parents can take to lessen the hazards. For instance, parents can insist upon purposeful driving and a designated route (rather than joy riding), limit or prohibit passengers, share the family car rather than letting the teen have her own, and create a Teen Driving Agreement (TDA) to clarify rules. Hollister helps parents determine whether their child is ready to drive (some states’ teen driving laws are more lenient than others, so parents need to step up) and provides pro-active steps to ensure that safety comes first. This concise, practical, and potentially life-saving book should be required reading for every parent before their teen gets behind the wheel. Agent: Joy Tutela, David Black Literary Agency. (Sept.)