All teen drivers are at higher risk because they lack driving experience and judgment that only come with time and driving.

Managing the vehicle is only the beginning of learning to drive – decision making and judgment come with experience over time.

Teens with their own vehicles are at greater risk because they drive more and have fewer restrictions placed on them.

Even “responsible” friends in the car can be distracting. Crash risks are nearly doubled with one passenger – and go up further with each extra passenger.

All young passengers are potentially distracting and at risk with a new driver – siblings are not safer.

The GDL program is good, but is just a MINIMUM. Strict parent-imposed driving restrictions that go beyond the laws, increase teen safety.

Nearly all parents DO set limits, and teens expect limits. The stronger the limits, the better the safety outcomes.

Checkpoints FAQ

How this website can help parents
What can I find on this website?

This website has information about the teen driving laws in MI, the risks teen drivers face when first licensed (including common myths and facts about teen driving), how parents can help their teens be safer drivers, and the Checkpoints program’s interactive parent-teen driving agreement that parents can use to set clear driving privileges, rules, and consequences with their teens.

[Back to Top]

How is this website different than other teen driving sites?

The Checkpoints Program presented on this website was created by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and has been tested in several research studies.  It has been shown to help parents create and use a parent-teen driving agreement during the first months their teens had licenses and those teens got fewer tickets and reported fewer risky driving behaviors (like speeding, tailgating, turning fast, unsafe lane changes, cutting in front of other vehicles, going through yellow-red lights, etc.).  This website is available to parents for free through a grant to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute from the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

[Back to Top]

How to use this website
How do I use this website?

The website is designed to give you information about teen driving and to give you an interactive driving agreement that you can fill out with your teen.  Here are some suggestions for finding helpful information on this website:

1.  Click on the green arrows near the top of each page (starting with "Learn More" on the home page) to follow our recommended path through the website.

2. If you don't want to follow the path of green arrows you can use the menu bar (located under the top banner on each page) to jump to specific pages.

3.  If you want to straight to getting started on an agreement you can click the "Sign Up" arrow on the homepage.

[Back to Top]