Tips For Teaching Your Teenager To Drive

Tips For Teaching Your Teenager To Drive

For some, the idea of allowing your child to get behind the wheel strikes fear deep into your heart.  Learning how to control such a large piece of machinery is a very serious occasion, but your teenager may not seem quite as concerned.  

It may help you feel a bit more comfortable to equip yourself with a little knowledge as a defense.  You don’t have to ride in terror. Here are a few helpful tips for teaching your teenager to drive.

Be a role model first

Long before you ever begin teaching your children to drive, you’re teaching them about driving.  Your kids will watch you drive, and they’ll watch even closer when they’re teenagers.  You can’t expect that they will always wear their seatbelt if you never wear yours.  

Avoid riding the tail-end of the driver in front of you as you drive.  Stop at every stop sign, and obey the speed limits, especially if your kids are in the car.  

Know the main dangers

Understand the most dangerous situations on the road for teenagers.  Here is a short list of some of the main dangers for your teen.

  • Driving at night: Nearly half of all deadly teenage collisions happen between the hours of 9pm and 6am.  Keep your kids off the roads at night, unless they are thoroughly supervised.
  • Interstate driving: Your teenager should be comfortable driving alongside big trucks and heavy traffic at high speeds.  The interstate is a breeding ground for danger.  
  • Distracted driving: Teenagers have problems fidgeting with things as they drive.  Try to teach your kids not to fiddle while they drive.
  • Driving with other teen passengers: Driving with other teenage passengers often means a bit of folly.  
  • Speeding: Teenagers love driving fast, and it is the fault of many.  Try to teach your kids the value of speed limits. Make them aware of a few things like what is criminal speeding in Arizona or the speeding laws wherever you reside. Let them understand that it can have serious consequences.

Use regular roads for learning

It’s understandable for the first driving lesson to be done away from traffic and other collision dangers, but you shouldn’t restrict your kid to that environment for long.  If you only allow your teenager to practice in a blank environment, they will be easily overwhelmed when they hit the real roads.

Know what your teen really needs

Understanding the common driving challenges of teenagers will help you be a more precise teacher.  It’s hard to get into the mind of a person who knows nothing about driving when you’ve been driving for many years, so here are some things your teen may struggle to conquer.  

  • Turning at a safe speed.
  • Braking smoothly.
  • Backing up.
  • Depth perception.
  • Maintaining speed.
  • Driving in bad weather.
  • Driving at night.

Invest in good auto insurance

Should the worst occur and your teenager wreck the car, it’s important to make certain that you have a solid auto insurance policy to help clean up the mess.