As a parent, the day your teenage son or daughter receives their learner’s permit can be exciting and also nerve-wracking. It may seem like not too long ago that you were getting your child ready for their first day of kindergarten, and now they’re ready to learn how to drive and get their license.
It’s normal to be worried about preparing your teen to stay safe on the roads, but teaching them correctly can help protect them from preventable accidents and help ease your worries when they have their license and it’s time to trust them with the keys to the family car.
Here are some key points to keep in mind when teaching your teen how to drive.
Teach Your Teen about the Vehicle
Before hitting the road for the first time, you will need to teach your teen about how your car works and what they need to know about the vehicle. They should read the vehicle manual to familiarize themselves with all of the moving parts and required maintenance. You should also take a look under the hood with them and do some demonstrations to show them how the parts work.
Your teen should be familiar with the following before you take them out for their first driving lesson:
- How to change a tire
- Filling up the vehicle with fuel
- Checking the oil
- Checking tire pressure and inflating them when needed
- How to start and stop the engine
- How to use headlights and parking lights
- How to adjust the windshield wipers
- What do all of the lights on the dashboard mean?
How to Be a Good Instructor
Your teen’s learning experience will be safer and more effective if you follow several rules of thumb as their instructor:
- Provide them with ample advance notice before giving a direction. For example, let them know that they will need to make a turn several blocks beforehand.
- Stay aware of the road at all times, checking in front, behind, and to both sides of the vehicle.
- Ask questions rather than barking orders. For example, ask “what is the speed limit?” rather than yelling at them for speeding.
- Have a well-thought-out plan when going out for instructive driving, including a route and areas of focus.
- Avoid being too harsh when they make mistakes and provide constructive criticism.
- Be a good driving role model by consistently driving safely.
- Wait for good weather conditions and drive during the day for the first several lessons.
- Start in a parking lot and make sure they have the fundamentals down before practicing on roadways.
- Take them out for several short lessons of about 15-20 minutes at the beginning rather than long practice sessions.
What Skills Should You Practice?
For experienced drivers, the skills necessary for safe driving may feel like second nature. Eventually, you don’t even need to consciously think about what you’re doing. You may naturally be focused on the road as soon as you start the engine. However, this is not the case for new drivers. When teens are learning, there is a long checklist of safe driving behaviors that should be practiced during the learning stage:
- How to turn safely, including using turn signals properly and taking turns at the right speed
- Braking safely and smoothly by coming to a stop gradually
- Accelerating smoothly by incrementally increasing speed until you reach the speed limit (or a safe speed within the posted limit if there are poor road conditions)
- How to safely approach an intersection with stop lights or stop signs
- What is right of way and how is it determined?
- Safely changing lanes and merging into traffic
- How to maintain a safe speed given the road conditions and speed limit
- Maintaining a safe following distance from other vehicles
- How to scan the road for potential hazards and how to respond to them
- How to safely share the road with pedestrians, cyclists, and school buses
- What are the rules for driving in a school zone?
- What should you do if an emergency vehicle like an ambulance is approaching?
- How to safely use turn lanes
Some of these skills may come naturally to your teen, while others may require more practice. As their instructor, pay attention to their areas of weakness and place some extra focus on these. Review the ones that they seem to understand well too, as there is no such thing as too much practice.
How to Know When Your Teen Is Ready for Their Driver’s Test
Of course, your teen will need to go through an official driver’s license exam before they can legally drive on their own. However, as a parent, you still have the final say on this decision. Before they take the exam, make sure they have a strong understanding of safe driving fundamentals and how to apply these fundamentals when behind the wheel. If they pass their exam and you feel confident in trusting them on the road, don’t hesitate to grant them driving privileges.