Behind The Wheel – How To Help Your Teen Be A Safe Driver
While each learner driver will be unique, they need to all master the skills, knowledge, and behaviour required to safely operate a vehicle on the road. The exact hours will vary depending on the state. Make sure you verify your local road authority’s requirements.
While qualified driving instructors will instruct instructional driving lessons, most recorded driving experiences will still be monitored by a parent. This learning experience will bring many lessons, mistakes, and frustrations. However, a good plan, along with safe driving tips, can help.
We will be sharing some tips with you to encourage safe driving habits in your teen.
It Is Important To Start Slowly
Your teenage learner driver has not had any experience with driving, nor have many parents had to supervise one. You must start slowly. You plan Pass First Go Driving Lessons at quiet locations, free of traffic, so you can both focus on the basics.
You can use empty parking lots to have your very first lesson together. They let you practice the most basic skills without being subject to traffic or road conditions. They can then focus on the essentials like stopping, starting and steering and checking their blind spots and mirrors, all without being distracted by traffic.
If you are ready to learn to drive in traffic, it will be a smooth transition to quieter backstreets nearby that will help your learner driver get used to the feeling of driving in light traffic. You can give your teen some time to feel comfortable driving in quiet traffic around here before moving onto main roads. Don’t rush. Your confidence could be damaged and you, your learner and other drivers could be at risk.
It’s also possible to experience new driving conditions by using quiet backstreets, parking lots, and other places. After giving your teen safety driving tips, you can take them to a carpark where they can practice in rainy conditions. This will enable them to see the difference in braking speed and tire grip.
Building Confidence
You should arrange driving lessons to meet with a qualified driving tutor as soon as possible. Your learner driver should know the basics by the end of the first few sessions. Then you can start to plan your driving practice.
It’s important to focus on a small number of skills or knowledge. Practising too many skills at one time can make it confusing and overwhelming. It’s also possible for them to become distracted by other things, which could lead to poor habits or make it difficult to learn.
The same goes for forcing them to drive when they aren’t prepared or comfortable (like a first driving lesson on a busy highway). If they become panicky, or can’t make the right judgements regarding timing and positioning, they could be at serious risk.
Try to keep your focus on them and not compare their progress with that of another learner driver. Learning to drive doesn’t require them to spend more time than others. Driving lessons are intended to help teach your teens safe driving behaviour and give them the knowledge and skills needed to survive on the road.
Remember to be patient and kind with your learner-driver. Although it might seem easy and intuitive to give advice, your driver has years of practice and is familiar with driving. However, the learner driver, on the other hand, is often new to many things and learning multiple things at once.
Parenting is your primary role in driving. Your teen must follow your lead and demonstrate good driving skills and etiquette. This includes not only checking blind spots, marking appropriately, obeying speed limits, and taking into consideration other road users.
It also means you must keep any items that might be distracting, including phones, out of your sight. You should also be calm while driving – even if others are doing the wrong thing.
