About 200 students and parents packed into the lecture hall on Sept. 29 for Parent/Teen Safety Night, where future drivers and their parents learned the rules, regulations and safety of the road.

The presentation was aimed primarily at parent awareness, and making it clear to the parents that their son/daughter’s license was in their hands.

Driver’s Ed instructors Coach Patrick Hughes, Amy Lipicky, and Coach Dave O’Hara were in attendance, along with Student Resource Officer McGhee. Although Coach Hughes was the primary speaker for the evening,  Lipicky, who was operating the PowerPoint, also gave a few pointers, and Officer McGhee said a few words about what to do if stopped by a police officer.

Parents were given 45 hour parent-teen driving logs available in English as well as other languages to accommodate the diversity of Annandale.

Parents were reminded of the strong role they play in determining whether their son or daughter is a safe driver, explained the licensing process thoroughly, risks and warnings of driving, and other important safety tips. Modeling safe driving behaviors, and driving the way you want your teen to drive, were also stressed as parents have the most influence to a teen’s driving.

Through slideshows and an impressive PowerPoint, the Driver’s Ed instructors conveyed to parents the importance they play in their teen son or daughter’s driving. There were many topics covered including “What is the parents role in teen driving?,” “What do parents say and do?,” “Teen Driving Risks,” “Seat Belt Usage,” “Push-Pull technique” and more.

The most important point Coach Hughes, the speaker of the presentation, said he would want parents to leave with would be “how much of an impact and influence they can have on their child’s driving.”

The presentation provided with parents with the information they needed. “To be able to sit down with my child and discuss the safety of driving, and how dangerous it can be [to drive],” said parent Lee Barnes.

www.key2safedriving.com – allows parents to enforce no cell phone use while driving
www.dmvnow.org– online quizzes available and preparation for the test
http://www.dmv.org/practice-tests.php -more online quizzes