Revision: January 6, 2010

NOTES:

• For background, see Parts 1 and 2, posted on this blog.
• Reader feedback and suggestions for improvements strongly encouraged! ([email protected]).
• Model contract attached as a Word document, which may be downloaded and modified as necessary and advisable. I only ask that, if you use or forward this contract to others, you identify this blog as the source, so that the Part 1 and Part 2 background discussions are also available to the user. If you don’t have Word, a non-modifiable PDF document may be downloaded as an alternative.
• Part 4 (upcoming) will be a sample / filled-out model.

Click here to download the Word document

Click here to download the PDF document

Thanks!

Tim Hollister

First, let me reiterate that by encouraging the use of TDC, by no means am I retreating from the basic message of this blog: There Is No Such Thing As A Safe Teen Driver. Signing a TDC should never distract a parent from the essential question of whether a teen is ready to be licensed or should get behind the wheel in particular circumstances. A TDC is an upfront agreement about driving conduct, but should not allow an unready teen to drive.

This post provides guidance about how to negotiate, sign, and implement a TDC. The paragraphs in this post will be condensed into instructions for the contract itself, which will be the next (third) post.

1. Getting To Yes. In their classic book Getting To Yes, Roger Fisher and William Ury advise that negotiation of any agreement should focus on achieving a mutual objective, interests instead of positions, and “separating the people from the problem.” For a TDC, this means starting with the mindset that the ultimate, mutual goal is the safety of the driver, passengers, and everyone who shares the road with the teen. This should be a cooperative process that ends in achievement, not victory.
2. The Need To Compromise. Notwithstanding what I just said, introducing the idea of a TDC to your teen and then starting the negotiation will unleash conflicting forces. As a parent, that is, the person with the keys and thus the power, you must make it clear that negotiating and signing a contract is a non-negotiable part of your teen being allowed to drive, but then you need to show your teen your willingness to be reasonable, to listen, and to accommodate your child’s viewpoint whenever you can. Put another way, a contract is most likely to be followed if both parties give up something substantive; a common definition of a good compromise is a deal that no one likes but everyone accepts as the best that can be done. Therefore, as a parent, you should insist on a contract but not dictate its terms, and remember that an important part of a TDC is the very act of discussing safety issues with your teen.
3. Motivation. When explaining to your teen why a contract is essential, mention at least these reasons:
   • driving can cause injury, death, damage, and financial liability, and can even result in criminal charges;
   • even though state government will allow teens to drive before age 18, parents remain legally and financially responsible for their teen’s driving;
   • listing the consequences of misconduct helps deter it; and
   • deciding on the consequences of bad driving is better done in a calm setting, before the teen starts, rather than in the aftermath of an accident or a ticket.
4. Who? Who signs the contract? Obviously, the teen driver must sign, but the agreement should also be signed by every adult who will have some role in continued training and supervision of the teen’s driving. This may include a relative or neighbor; sometimes it takes a village. Having all responsible adults sign may avoid the teen trying to avoid a suspension by lobbying an adult who did not sign. This step also informs all supervising adults that there is a contract in place.
5. When? When to negotiate and sign? My recommendation is to negotiate a draft of the contract when the teen obtains a learner’s permit, so that both teen and supervising adult(s) can keep the proposed terms in mind as the teen progresses through driving instruction; and then finalize and sign the contract when the teen obtains a driver’s license.
6. How Long? Most model agreements available on the Internet have no time period or are based on an unstated assumption that the contract lasts until the driver turns 18, when most states relax or remove restrictions on such matters as passengers and curfews. Conversely, a few models treat the initial contract as something to be renegotiated periodically. My thought: the contract should be in effect for a minimum of one year from when the teen becomes a licensed driver (that is, authorized to drive solo) or until the teen’s 18^th birthday, whichever is longer, with no reference to renegotiation. Also, it may be advisable, if the teen is licensed while she is age 17, for the contract to remain in place for one full year even if that extends past the 18^th birthday. The teen should understand that the agreement will be changed only if state laws change or the family or teen undergoes a major life change (parents separating or divorcing, a geographic move, injury or disability, change in economic circumstances, etc.).
7. Principles And Facts. A TDC should start with a list of agreed-upon facts and principles, including why teen driving is dangerous, why the teen and parent(s) are signing the contract, and how the teen has satisfied the state’s requirements for new drivers.
8. Consistency With State Law. Every provision needs to be consistent with or stricter than state law. Thus, if the state’s curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds is 11:00 PM, the contract can set an earlier but not later time. Thus, a TDC requires parents and teens to learn their state’s laws.
9. Who Can Report Misconduct? Many model TDCs refer only to a ticket or citation issued by law enforcement, but what if a teacher, coach, neighbor, friend, relative, or even a fellow student tells the parent, “I saw your teen texting while driving,” or “I saw several passengers in the car”? What if the parent receives an anonymous tip? This is, I think, a parent’s judgment call, which should be based on whether the report is from a credible source. If your teen protests, and your TDC has identified a mediator (see No. 21), perhaps the mediator can sort things out. But the contract should note that suspensions may result from reports or events other than official, police-issued tickets.
10. Overlap With State Law. Suppose your teen receives a ticket and a conviction that will result in the state motor vehicle department suspending his license? Must he accept the suspension in your contract and the state’s penalty? I think so. First, the police and state agencies can take weeks or months to process a license suspension; only a parent can invoke the suspension when it is most needed, which is immediately. Second, the teen should understand that parents/families and the police/state government have different interests in safe teen driving, each important. As a matter of deterring misconduct, the teen should understand that a violation may result in two suspensions.
11. “Suspension” Not “Consequence.” Many contracts on the Internet use the word “consequence” to describe what happens after a violation, but this word is so used for young children that I think “suspension” is better. This word also reinforces that driving is a privilege, not a right.
12. Procedure. Another important, up-front clarification is: what does “My driving privileges will be suspended for ‘x’ days” mean? Will the teen hand over his license? Keys? Will the car stay where it is? Will the parent put a lock on the steering column? Specify these procedures.
13. No Driving, Or No Solo? A critical decision is whether the teen will lose her privilege of driving solo, or all driving. In other words, will the consequence be to revert to the learner’s permit mode, where the teen may still drive but only with the parent or guardian in the car? There are two schools of thought here. One is that teens need on-the-road experience, and suspending all driving interferes with continued training. Another is that misconduct should result in no driving at all. Also factored here is how the teen, under a suspension, gets to school, a job, or activities. Some parents will say, “You lost your license, you find a ride.” I can’t prescribe an answer here, but urge parents to think through this issue.
14. Counting Days. Understand how you will calculate a suspension. One way is to specify the exact number of days, and start Day 1 when the suspension is imposed (and hopefully, agreed upon), and count 24-hour-periods starting then. Thus, if the violation occurs Saturday night, you discuss the situation Sunday morning, and your teen gives up his license on Sunday at Noon for the agreed-on seven days, the suspension ends at Noon the following Sunday.
15. Curfew Exceptions. Most state curfew laws have exceptions, such as for school-related activities or employment. If your teen will be invoking one of these exceptions (for example, he has a job that ends after the curfew), write in how this will be handled.
16. Non-Driving Matters. Should driving misconduct affect non-driving matters, such as being grounded from social activities, adding household chores, withholding allowances, etc.? Instead of a suspension of driving privileges, what about doing the dishes for a whole week? My recommendation: stick to driving. Driving violations should lead driving suspension or limits. This contract is complicated enough without bringing in non-driving matters.
17. Finances. The only exception to No. 16 is finances. A TDC is a good place for a basic statement regarding what part of driving costs will be paid by the parent and by the teen.
18. Parent Override. Teens may balk at this suggestion, which in a way undermines the purpose of a written agreement, but parents are ultimately responsible for the safety of their teens, supervision of teen driving requires judgment, and circumstances can arise in the life of a teen where driving will be unsafe. A parent needs to have on-the-spot suspension authority, and a TDC should recognize this. If, for example, a teen has gone on a school field trip, arrived home at 3:00 AM, and wants to drive somewhere at 7:00 AM, parents need to be able to step in to prohibit fatigued driving.
19. No Fault. To balance the parent override, the contract should also state that driving privileges will not be suspended for accidents where the teen driver is not at fault. If the teen is stopped at a light and rear-ended, or her car is dented while parked, no consequence should occur. The TDC should say so.
20. Technology. If you, as a parent, can afford to install one of the evolving technologies for tracking teen drivers, write this into the contract and make it clear that data from that device can result in a suspension. For example, one device measures the speed of the car and sends the parent an e-mail report if a certain speed is exceeded. State that a report showing speeding will result in a suspension.
21. Mediator. As with any contract, disputes may arise about how to interpret some provision, or when a suspension is warranted. Parties to legal contracts use mediators, arbitrators, or judges, so why not a TDC? Identify a third party, with some objectivity and neutrality, whose advice you will seek if there is a disagreement. This is a good opportunity for the parent to let the teen take the lead; try hard to go with your teen’s recommendation.
22. Where? Keep one copy of the signed contract in the car, one with each person who signed it, and one with your mediator.
23. Already Licensed? Can a TDC be negotiated with a teen who is already licensed and driving? Absolutely. A violation or crash will provide an opening for a parent to insist on one as a condition of further driving, but the best advice is to not delay putting a TDC in place for every teen driver.

Next up: a model TDC.

This post begins a multi-part series on teen driving contracts. Part 1 introduces the subject, surveys the Internet resources, and explains why, after conducting this research, I am suggesting an improvement to the versions currently available. Part 2 will be titled “How to Negotiate and Sign a Contract,” and Part 3 will be my new model, with instructions, to be posted as a free Word document. In Part 4, I will comment on several of the most difficult issues that arise with these contracts. All posts will be online by the end of December 2009.

1. A “Better” Contract? I confess to a degree of boldness in claiming that the model contract I am proposing is an improvement on what is currently found on the Internet. However, I bring to the drafting task a comprehensive review of the information online; identification, based on an on-going review of the latest research, of contract provisions and instructions that are outdated or incorrect; twenty-seven years of experience as an attorney with drafting and reviewing contracts; and the conviction that a bereaved parent is well-situated to convey the message about the need for these contracts.

2. What Is A Teen Driving Contract? For brevity, I will abbreviate our subject to “TDC.” A TDC is a written, signed agreement between a licensed driver under the age of 18 and his or her parent(s) or guardian(s) that acknowledges the risks and dangers of driving, states clear rules for the teen driver’s conduct for a defined time period after the teen is first licensed, and establishes consequences for a violation of those rules. Thus, the purposes of a TDC are to recognize that bad driving can result in injury, death, and property damage; to acknowledge that, in general, parents remain legally and financially responsible for the consequences of their teen’s driving; and to ensure that parents and teens to have a detailed, calm, and candid talks (or a series of them) about when and how permission to drive will be granted and the consequences of misconduct before a teen gets behind the wheel – instead of after a crash or violation.

3. What A TDC Is Not:

• a legally-binding contract that a parent / guardian or teen may enforce in court;
• a substitute for on-the-road driver training;
• a reason to allow or a means to push a teen who is not yet ready to drive safely;
• a basis for a parent or guardian to be less vigilant; or
• a defense against liability if the parent is sued.

It is important to understand that a TDC is not a legal document, but what is known as a “memo of understanding” or “term sheet.” By no means does this distinction detract from the importance of entering into (what we can still call) a contract, but everyone should understand what the agreement is and isn’t.

4. What’s Available On The Internet? Online, you will find, most prominently, Allstate Insurance’s contract, www.allstateteendriver.com. Let’s give credit where it is due: Allstate has pioneered parent-teen contracts and through its national advertising campaign, including full-page ads in major newspapers, promoted them heavily. In addition, most of the major insurance companies have their own versions, as does nearly every state motor vehicle department website. There are several “.com” websites that sell model parent-teen contracts for about $20 per download, with driving agreements being among dozens of subjects available. (Why any parent would pay for one of these contracts is unclear to me; plenty of free ones available.) Finally, a variety of driving instructors, psychologists, and health care professionals have posted their own versions.

5. Areas For Improvement In TDCs Currently Available Online. As prefaced above, I have concluded that we can improve upon most of the agreements now online because of the following characteristics:

• “bare bones” contracts that don’t acknowledge or address a variety of substantial risks and dangers of teen driving;
• contracts that do not reflect the most recent research about how the brains of teens underappreciate risk, or the huge dangers of texting and electronic devices;
• agreements that try to sound like legally-binding contracts but instead sow confusion (“The party of the first part, hereinafter called the “Teen Driver” . . .);
• contracts that come with pages of upfront instructions, categories of violations, and “special” notes;
• agreements with unclear or vague consequences (“If I do x-y-z, I may lose my license . . .”);
• agreements without a defined timeframe (one year, for example), or that schedule a renegotiation only weeks after signing;
• provisions that are simply contrary to the published research, such as those that only prohibit passengers “at night” – while numerous studies show that passengers increase risks at any hour of the day, and the most unsafe hour of the day is immediately after school lets out;
• agreements that cover non-driving-related subjects, such as homework, grades, allowance, “life responsibilities,” household chores, parental respect, firearms, lending the car to another driver, etc.; and
• contracts that are, in reality, advertising, such as insurance company offerings that are a “free public service” but just happen to mention their discounts for good drivers.

6. Two Critical Problems With National Model Contracts. Up front, we need to acknowledge the difficulties inherent in every model TDC, including my forthcoming one, that is offered nationally. First, a TDC should not vary from state law, and every state is different. Each state’s rules are minimum standards, and thus TDCs must be consistent with them. For example, if state law imposes an 11 PM curfew for drivers under age 18, your contract cannot make it 10:30 PM. (Thus, one benefit of negotiating a TDC is that parent and teen must learn what state law requires.)

Second, obviously, every family and every teen face different circumstances. If parents are divorced, or a guardian is in charge of the teen’s conduct, the negotiation may be more difficult than if two parents are present, informed, and fully engaged by the process. If the teen has a job that requires driving, this reality will need to be accommodated. Rules and exceptions also will vary for rural, suburban, and urban areas, and based on family financial circumstances.

But these problems pale when compared to injury or death resulting from an automobile accident.