Parents play a crucial and irreplaceable role in guiding their teenagers as they learn to drive. Their experience, knowledge, and ongoing support provide teens with a solid foundation for developing safe driving habits. With active involvement from parents, teen drivers are better equipped to face the challenges and responsibilities that come with being behind the wheel.
Most parents’ driving resumes would include:
Most parents’ driving resumes would include:
Remain Calm (at least it should appear that way) – Your teen driver is already nervous; even if he or she is not showing it. If you appear nervous, it will make them MORE nervous. This fear can impair proper decision-making. Would you feel comfortable with an impaired driver at the wheel? A nervous driver makes mistakes; a calm driver makes fewer mistakes.
Utilize Risk Management – Individuals who have never driven before should practice in a parking lot before they move on to public streets. Your first session should establish smooth braking, smooth acceleration, and proper steering technique.
Once the driver demonstrates basic proficiency, graduate to residential streets. Stay in these neighbourhoods until your teen is ready to move into more complex situations. If the co-driver is nervous to graduate to the next level, the driver should stay at the current level as long as necessary. Keep it simple. There is no point trying parallel parking between vehicles or driving in rush hour traffic until the skill and comfort level is right.
Be Positive – Obviously, your teen will make some mistakes when learning to drive. I don’t think I need to tell you to correct them. Many instructors, however, forget to reinforce the successes. Make the effort to reinforce good performance with remarks like, “good smooth braking” or, “nice turn.” Positive reinforcement lets your teen know you see improvement.
We All Learn at Our Own Pace – If you have observed more than one child, you know that each of your children has a unique personality. Work with your teen according to his or her level of maturity, learning ability, and physical coordination.
Enjoy Your Time Together – Tell your usual bad jokes dad, relax and have fun!
Sessions should normally range from 45 to 90 minutes in length. Take a good break in the middle if you plan to be out longer. It takes concentration and repetition to learn those good driving habits.
Help Them Stay Focused – When necessary, pull over somewhere safe for discussion. It’s hard for a driver to keep their eyes on the road if they have to look at you when you are talking. You may have learned to drive the week before your road test but there is a lot more traffic on the roads today and drivers tend to be more impatient than ever before.
Have a game plan before you get in the car.
-Are you going somewhere specific?
-What skills are you developing?
-Are you spending enough time on each and every skill? (Many parents avoid enough time for parking skills)
Be Sure To Give Directions Early – Nobody wants surprises on the road. A last-second instruction to “turn left here” will undoubtedly result in a poorly executed left turn into oncoming traffic that could lead to unexpected and expensive consequences.
Before you know it, your child will be well on the way to Driving Safe… for Life!