Ages 16-17

The Teen Driving Agreement

Clear rules and hard limits for the first six months behind the wheel.

Handing over the keys to a 16 or 17-year-old is terrifying, so don't leave the rules to chance. Use this playbook before your teen takes their first solo drive. It sets clear, non-negotiable boundaries so your kid stays alive and your car stays in one piece.

The First Six Months and Passenger Caps

Fatal crash rates climb steeply with every teenager packed into a car. Keep a hard cap of zero non-family passengers for the first 90 days. From months four to six, allow exactly one friend. Don't cave on carpooling to school until they have six clean months under their belt.

Month 1 to 3: Only siblings or adult passengers allowed
Month 4 to 6: Maximum one friend in the car at a time
No carpooling groups to games, parties, or concerts

Curfew and Bad Weather Limits

Most teen driving fatalities happen between 9 PM and midnight on weekends. Keep curfew at 10:00 PM for the first six months, no matter what their friends' parents allow. If it's pouring rain, icy, or heavy fog, offer a ride yourself instead of letting them test bad conditions alone.

Car parked in the driveway by 10:00 PM on weeknights and weekends
No solo highway driving during active snow, ice, or severe rain
Permission required for any trip longer than 20 miles from home

Phones and In-Car Distractions

The phone goes in the center console or glove box on Do Not Disturb before shifting into drive. There's no fiddling with playlists at red lights and no holding the phone on speaker. One verified phone distraction equals an automatic two-week loss of keys, no arguments.

Set music and GPS before taking the car out of park
Phone stays completely out of hand while driving
First phone infraction: 14 days without the keys

Speed, Tickets, and Tracking Apps

Install Life360 or Apple Find My before the first solo trip so you can see speeds and arrival times. Don't micromanage every turn, but set notifications for speeds over 10 mph above the posted limit. If they get a moving violation, they pay the fine and lose the keys for 30 days.

Location and speed tracking apps stay on 24/7
Any moving violation ticket means an immediate 30-day suspension
Teen pays 100% of all ticket fines and court costs

Money, Gas, and Collision Damage

Teens who have zero financial stake in a car drive like it. They pay for their own everyday gas and contribute a set monthly amount toward the insurance hike. If they cause a fender-bender or scrape a bumper, they pay the deductible or work it off.

Teen covers 100% of their gas and leaves a quarter-tank minimum
Monthly contribution of $75 to $150 toward car insurance
Teen pays the $500 deductible on any at-fault damage

The No-Questions-Tonight Ride Rule

If alcohol, drugs, or unsafe drivers enter the picture, they call you for a ride home immediately. You pick them up anywhere, anytime, with zero anger and zero interrogation on the drive home. You'll talk about the situation the next afternoon, but their safety always comes before discipline.

Lifeline call gets an immediate ride with no yelling that night
Car left overnight will be picked up together the next morning
Calling for a safe ride never results in an automatic driving ban

What to say

Handing over the keys for their first solo trip

I am really proud of you for getting your license. Remember, that car is two tons of metal. Put your phone in the console, take your time, and text me the second you park. Drive safe, kiddo.

When they beg to drive three friends to a football game

The rule is no friends in the car for ninety days, and that doesn't change for games. Tell everyone your parents are strict jerks who won't budge. I am happy to take the blame, but you are not driving a group.

The morning after they called for a late-night ride home

I want to say thank you for calling me last night instead of getting in a car with someone who was drinking. You made the hard, smart choice. Let's eat some breakfast, and then you can tell me what happened.

The agreement

New Driver Six-Month Agreement

We sign this agreement together before any solo driving begins, and its terms stay active for the first 180 days.

1.1. No teen passengers are permitted in the car for the first 90 days; exactly one teen passenger is allowed from day 91 to day 180.
2.2. The car must be parked in our home driveway by 10:00 PM every night unless a parent approves a specific exception in advance.
3.3. The phone must remain on Do Not Disturb mode and stored out of reach in the center console or glove box while driving.
4.4. GPS location and drive tracking via Life360 or Find My must remain turned on and active at all times.
5.5. The driver pays for all personal gasoline and contributes $100 per month toward the increased family auto insurance premium.
6.6. Any moving violation, speeding ticket, or at-fault accident results in an automatic 30-day suspension of all solo driving privileges.
7.7. The driver is responsible for paying the full insurance deductible up to $500 for any at-fault collision or parking damage.
8.8. Zero use or possession of alcohol, cannabis, or illegal drugs in or around the vehicle at any time.
9.9. If the driver or their peers have been drinking, the driver will call a parent for a ride with guaranteed zero questions or yelling that night.

Where parents get burned

Letting them carry a car full of friends early on, which multiplies fatal crash odds by four.
Ignoring phone use at red lights, which builds the deadly habit of glancing down while in traffic.
Covering all gas and insurance costs, which strips away their respect for the expense and risk of driving.
Yelling at them when they call for a late-night ride, ensuring they will never call you in danger again.

When to loosen up: Sit down together on the six-month mark to review their driving log, gas contributions, and tracking data. If they had zero tickets, zero accidents, and honored curfew, bump curfew to 11:00 PM and allow up to two friends in the car.

Your kid isn't the one in the playbook.

Tell Beacon what's actually happening in your house and it'll tell you which of these rules to hold and which one to drop.

ASK BEACON

Next up

The First Phone Playbook

What to set up, what to say, and what to sign before you hand over the first smartphone.

The College Send-Off

The last summer, the first bad week, money, grades, and how often to text.