Trust But Verify: Teen Driving with Dr. Charlie Klauer
What Research on Teen Driving Shows and What Parents are Getting Wrong
When my first daughter was born, it took me too long to realize that I needed to teach her how to sleep--that sleep is a skill, and I am the skill-builder. And then I realized that although I had slept every day of my life for 3 decades, I had no idea how to teach another person to sleep. Marc Weissbluth’s Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child became my Bible for years.
When that same daughter started preparing to get her driver’s permit, I realized again that she needed a skill, and I am the skill-builder. Even though I’ve been driving for 3 decades, I have no idea how to teach another person to drive. Marc Weissbluth didn’t have me covered this time. That’s why Sarah and I were thrilled when long-time listener and executive producer Kelly Stulce introduced us to Dr. Charlie Klauer.
Dr. Klauer has been studying teen driving for 15 years, and she’s in the process of writing the parenting Bible we all need.
Topics Discussed
Why teen driving is more dangerous than most parents realize
How to structure the learner's permit period for maximum practice
Night driving, interstate driving, and other milestone moments to sequence carefully
How parents' own driving habits shape teens behind the wheel
Apps and tools for monitoring teen drivers without being in the car
Why giving a teen "their own" car may increase risky driving
At what age teens should start learning — and why waiting until 18 isn't the answer
Want more Pantsuit Politics? Subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode and get access to our premium shows and community.
Episode Resources
Dr. Klauer’s survey
Episode Transcript
Coming soon…
Show Credits
Pantsuit Politics is hosted by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. The show is produced by Studio D Podcast Production.
Our theme music was composed by Xander Singh with inspiration from original work by Dante Lima.
Our show is listener-supported. The community of paid subscribers here on Substack makes everything we do possible. Special thanks to our Executive Producers, some of whose names you hear at the end of each show. To join our community of supporters, become a paid subscriber here on Substack.
To search past episodes of the main show or our premium content, check out our content archive.
This podcast and every episode of it are wholly owned by Pantsuit Politics LLC and are protected by US and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. We hope you'll listen to it, love it, and share it with other people, but not with large language models or machines and not for commercial purposes. Thanks for keeping it nuanced with us.
My first car was a RED 1986 Chevy Cavalier. This was in 1998, so not exactly fancy. I was so happy to have my own car. My dad bought it from a friend before I even had my license. The problem was it eventually had some sort of issue where it would take several hours to restart when you shut it off. It got so bad that I had to drive my mom’s new Malibu to school and she drove my clunker to work since she was there longer. I was too afraid to get gas because you had to leave the engine running. I made my dad do it. 😂 My parents quickly traded up for a 1993 TEAL Pontiac Sunbird. I liked those cars, but what I really wanted was a purple car. From college up to COVID, I went through various silver and dark gray cars. Now I have a blue Camry that I will probably cry over when I have to let it go.