Learning how to drive is one of the most useful skills we can obtain. Teenagers tend to want to drive cars without properly learning how to do so, and often without a driver’s license. According to published data, 57% of teen passengers died by riding in vehicles driven by another teenager, while 16% of fatal teen crashes involved alcohol. To get in front of the issue, it’s important to teach your teen how to drive safely. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to do so to ensure your teen’s safety behind the wheel.
- 1. Don’t Throw Them into the Deep End – Show Them How to Drive Properly
It’s not a good idea to put your teen in the driver’s seat and tell them to “go” while you patiently wait for their next step. Learning new skills is all about observation and repetition, and the same applies to driving. Drive around the neighborhood together with you at the wheel. Explain basic driving concepts, your car’s controls, and some need-to-know open-road rules. Teens often mimic their parents, so show your teen how to drive, and they are likely to pick up on useful driving pointers.
- Make Initial Driving Exercises Short and in a Controlled Environment
Once you decide to give over the car’s wheel to your teen, make sure that you do so in a safe environment. Parking lots and open roads outside the city are a great place to start. Keep their first driving experiences short and focus on specific lessons you want to communicate. Draw parallels to school work and concepts they are familiar with. Instructing your teen to write an essay about their driving experience can also be very helpful. They can write essays about their expectations and experiences related to driving and then pass them through LetsGradeIt to ensure they are plagiarism-free. Teach them to fully focus on short driving lessons before extending their time in the driver’s seat.
- Drive Safely Even When You’re Not Actively Teaching your Teen to Drive
Preaching one thing and doing things differently won’t go well. Teens observe adults and take mental notes of how they should behave themselves. If you drive recklessly without a seatbelt or talk on the phone while driving, your teen will follow suit tomorrow. Show that you are a careful driver by implementing the rules you’ve been talking about during their lessons. This is one of the best ways for teens to understand that driving is, while useful, also dangerous and unpredictable.
- Discuss Your Teen’s Driving Experience, Thoughts, and Fears After Practice
Self-reflection is an essential part of learning, especially when it comes to something as exciting as driving. Depending on how deep your relationship with your teen is, you should ask them how it felt to drive. Some teens won’t enjoy driving as much as others, so it’s important to know where you stand. While some people like to drive cars daily, others do it only when they have to. Don’t force anything on your teen, and talk about what they think of driving and its role in their life.
- Encourage Teens to Write Down Important Open-Road Tips and Tricks
Instruct your teen to grab a notebook and a pen to journal about their driving lessons. Ask them to put their feelings and experience into writing, while also encouraging them to write down the tips and tricks you share. They can also pay for college essay help online to format their writing into more long-term essays and papers to use as references during driving. Writing down anything and everything that seems useful while learning how to drive is a great way for teens to accept unfamiliar concepts more quickly.
- Reach out to a Licensed Driving School in Your Area After Some Practice
Once your teen gains some experience driving in a controlled environment under your supervision, you should encourage them to enroll in a driving school. This will help them gain official experience and the paperwork needed to drive as an individual without supervision. Note that the laws for teens behind wheels vary from country to country and state to state. Your teen might not be able to fully operate a vehicle on their own before college. This shouldn’t dissuade them from going to a driving school to start the process of earning their driver’s license earlier than most.
Teaching Driving through Patience and Example (Conclusion)
Driving a car can be a fun and fulfilling experience, but it can also be dangerous if handled improperly. Use the opportunity to ingrain certain driving rules and expectations into your teen before they go behind the wheel on their own. Be patient and show them how to drive through your example, and they will be much more inclined to follow the rules and stay safe.
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