Cool, Calm, Collected: 5 Tips For Teaching Your Teen How To Drive

For many parents, it can be challenging teaching their teens how to drive for the first time due to a lack of experience. Parents can struggle with knowing where to begin to ensure that their teen stays safe on the road. To adequately prepare your young adult for getting behind the wheel, there are a few important tips to follow.

1. Teach Defensive Driving

Many collisions can be caused by mistakes made by other motorists on the road. Teach your child defensive driving techniques like scanning the road, keeping a safe distance from the car ahead, and reducing speed in poor weather conditions. If they’re involved in a collision, hire legal assistance from a firm like Gelman Gelman Wiskow & McCarthy LLC to ensure that you can have the right defense for your teen driver.

2. Discuss Driving in Different Weather Conditions

Teens are prone to getting in accidents while traveling in the rain or snow, making it important to discuss how they should drive in wet weather conditions. Instruct your child to accelerate and stop slowly while also driving eight to 10 seconds behind other cars. Encourage them to never slam completely on the breaks in order to avoid sliding out.

3. Pull Over When Mistakes are Made

Make it a point to avoid scolding your teen driver when mistakes are made to ensure they listen and retain the information that you’re telling them. Instead, pull over on the side of the road in a safe spot and discuss the mistake that was made to ensure that they’re aware of their actions and are more conscious of how they drive in the future.

4. Avoid Distractions

Help your teen avoid distractions as they drive by enforcing a few rules that they should begin to follow. Discuss the consequences that can come with using the phone or radio while driving, which can make it easy to take your eyes off of the road. You also want to prevent them from driving with their friends in the first six months of getting their driver’s license.

5. Practice on Different Types of Roads

It’s important to help your teen feel more comfortable driving on different types of roads to ensure that they can navigate the local area safely. Access highways during rush hour and travel on nearby streets that may be difficult to navigate to ensure that your child gets experience driving in various conditions.

By helping your teen learn how to drive, you can reduce their risk of an accident to ensure that they stay safe. With the right skills learned, you can have peace of mind knowing they’ll make the right decisions while spending time behind the wheel.