The day has finally arrived. Your beautiful child has finally reached the age that they are legally allowed to drive. Besides time going way too fast, you are probably stressed about your teen getting out on the road and staying safe. Don’t panic. We have some tips for you to help teach your teen how to be a safe driver on the road. Godspeed to you and your teenager learning how to drive.
Start out easy, and let them take the wheel in a big, empty parking lot. Let them get used to the feel of how much pressure on the gas and brake they need to apply and how the car maneuvers during turns.
Before you get on the road with your teen in the driver’s seat, the first thing to discuss with them is the awareness of other drivers. Your child might be stressed about getting behind the wheel for the first time, and to help ease their nerves, talk to them about focusing on themselves for your first time out. Like, don’t cater to other drivers because they are going slower, they don’t have to speed up to appease someone who is grumpily driving up their rear end. Along with this, you should teach them to watch out for other drivers, because there are a lot of unsafe people on the road. Tell your teen to take their time, be alert and to not cater to other driver’s attitudes on the road.
That old adage of “practice makes perfect”, exists for a reason. Practice driving with your teen as much as you can and as often as you can. Keeping it frequent, will help your teen become more comfortable with the task of driving an automobile. Plus, the more you do it, the better they will become. And don’t just practice in the car, go over the rules of the road and the state driving laws with them. This will help them pass their written exam and make them a better, safer driver by knowing all the rules to follow when they are out on the road.
Teach them to be distraction free. Distractions are the top cause of accidents for teens. So set some guidelines with them before they go out on their own. Set your own rules like, no driving with groups of friends, no using your cell phone while driving (some phones offer a locking option while the car is in motion so they can’t use it), pulling over to set your GPS, or not allowing radio usage.
Take them out driving at night and during different weather conditions to let them experience what that is like, while you are in the car to guide them through different situations. Driving in a rainstorm the first time can be very nerve-racking, so it’s good to be there to offer your guidance for safely navigating the situation. Or getting them used to driving at night, giving them experience of dealing with all the headlights, darkness, and spatial issues.
With all the guidance in the world, and doing your due diligence, accidents will still happen. Fingers crossed, that they are all minor and everyone is alright afterwards. But if you find yourself in a situation in need of repairs, give Heritage Auto Body a call today!
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