If you are sending your teen driver off to college and you aren't sure if they can care for their own vehicle while they are away, there are some things you can look into. You want to know that they can drive short or long distances safely, and that there aren't concerns as they pull out the driveway. You want to have the vehicle inspected by a mechanic, and have all of the fluids changed or topped off with a tune-up. Here are some other things you want to look into.

Brakes

It seems like checking the brakes or detecting brake problems is easy, but sometimes you can miss a small problem and end up needing complicated brake repairs. You want to have the experts do the following:

• Check the brake fluid
• Replace the pads
• Examine the rotors

When you know what condition the pads are in before the teen heads off to college, you won't be surprised rotor damage or badly worn pads.

Tires  

Tires with the proper amount of tread on them can save a life. It's worth the money and time to have new tires put on the vehicle, so the vehicle is prepared for any type of rain or snow. The new tires help the vehicle brake better even on dry pavement, and they improve the overall ride of the vehicle. A rotation and balance is also ideal, especially if you don't replace all of the tires on the vehicle.

Survival Emergency Kit

You want to have an emergency survival kit inside the vehicle. This should include flares, a light, candle for warmth, bottled water, even some emergency food in case they break down on the side of the road and can't get help in bad weather. A blanket, jumper cables and even a two-way radio are other options.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong on a vehicle just because of mechanical issues, a vehicles age, or because of an accident. These are some of the things that you can look into so that your teen is prepared to drive their vehicle without you there to maintain it or see it. If you are going to be away from your teen for months and you worry that they won't be able to notice when there are dangerous problems with their vehicle, you want to have all this taken care of before they get behind the wheel and leave.