SCDMV unveils The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program aimed at making more teenagers #RoadReady

Posted
The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) has unveiled a guide for parents and guardians who are teaching their children how to drive. The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program, or PSDP, introduces new drivers to weekly lessons behind the wheel as they prepare for their driving test after holding a beginner’s permit for 180 days. “South Carolina law requires that teenagers spend at least 40 hours on the road with an authorized adult while they learn to drive,” said SCDMV Executive Director Kevin Shwedo. “My question to parents or guardians is, ‘Why wouldn’t you spend double, triple, or four times that if it means your child is more comfortable behind the wheel and he or she has a better chance of coming home alive?’” The booklet is available online at PSDPonline.com. You can also download the free app from your phone’s app store by searching RoadReady. The app logs and manages hours spent behind the wheel so families can easily keep track before testing for their conditional driver’s licenses. The booklet itself is divided into lessons that make it easy to focus on specific skills that become more advanced as times goes on. “Parents are the key to assuring the safety of teen drivers,” said Emily Stein, president of Safe Roads Alliance. “The more involved the parents are at this important phase when teens are learning to drive, the more likely it will be that these teens will not be involved in a collision once they are driving on their own.” Toyota North America stated, “At Toyota, we have a vision of saving lives and amplifying the message of safe driving to teens, parents and educators. That is why we have partnered with The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program to promote safe driving for your teen and family.” “With distracted driving and all of the other many dangers on today’s roads, promoting highway safety in our state has never been more important. Farm Bureau Insurance is proud to partner with the SCDMV to make The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program available statewide. We see tremendous opportunity for the program to help teens develop lifelong safe driving skills,” said Susan Merrill, Director of Marketing. The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program, now in use in more than 20 states nationwide, features a 52-page magazine-style printed instruction guidebook. The RoadReady mobile app is a fun and useful supplement to the guidebook, which can track the required 40 hours of behind-the-wheel driving experience. The guidebook is now available at driver’s education schools across South Carolina.