Having a teenager with a driver’s license is often a source of stress for many parents. Vehicles are dangerous and there are many careless drivers on the road. So you can imagine the stress if you find out your teen is taking a road trip. Long distances, unfamiliar places and other drivers on the road is enough to make any parent stress out. The good news is there are some things you can do to help prepare your teen for a safe road trip and you can rest easier while they are on the road as well.

Pack emergency snacks – In the event that there is no safe place to stop and your teen gets hungry, or if driving through bad weather and she gets stuck somewhere, it’s a good idea to have some snacks packed in the vehicle.

Get a tune up first – Before letting your teen take a road trip, ensure the vehicle is in tip top shape with a tune up. You will get everything from tires to oil to the engine checked and you’ll feel safer about your young one out on the road.

Pack an emergency roadside kit – An emergency roadside kit can include water, warm blankets, flashlights, jumper cables, a first aid kit and more. In the event of an emergency- small to large- this kit will come in handy.

Get a roadside assistance plan – A quality, dependable roadside assistance plan will also give you the confidence to let your teen go on a road trip, knowing that if something happens to the vehicle, she will be taken care of. It’s well worth the extra money you will pay in addition to your auto insurance to have a quality roadside assistance plan.

Know the weather – Before any trip, it’s a great idea to know what the weather will be like where your teen is driving. Will she be going through snow or storms? These are things to prepare in advance for and also to be sure she is prepared to drive in weather conditions that might be different from what she is used to at home and around town.

Keep large objects weighted down – You should pack the vehicle so that any large or heavy objects are weighted down, put in the floor behind the front seats or tied down. This is so that in the event of an accident, they do not become projectiles or crush you inside the vehicle.

As you can see, there are many things you can do to plan ahead of time for your teen’s road trip. Don’t trust your teen to be able to remember all of these things on her own. Instead, you might want to print or write down the list and go over it with her to make sure she is prepared before the road trip.

While driving is something we all do every day, there are still dangers involved. We cannot prevent every danger from happening but there are many things we can do to prepare and avoid as many dangers as possible.