As parents, you would feel anxious about putting your teen behind the wheel. But as children grow up, they must learn essential life skills, such as cooking, cleaning, driving, etc. The anxiety and fear are natural, but you ought to let your kids become independent so they can easily survive through life. If you are venturing on the journey of giving driving lessons to your children, there are certain things that you should remember.
It is critical to make them aware of all the thighs related to driving, be it about the vehicle, road rules, or personal safety tips. It is a big responsibility, so we put together the important information your child must have before getting on the road with a license. Handling a vehicle makes them responsible for themselves and others driving, riding, and walking on the streets. Read this article to make a checklist of everything you must tell your kids.
What are the five stages of learning to drive?
When you finally decide to become your child’s driving coach, you should try and make things easier for both of you. You must understand that when you are the coach, you must keep the parental instinct in control. It will be tough initially, but you must mentally prepare yourself to give the lessons. You can follow the below-mentioned guide to break the driving lessons into stages and plan accordingly. Mixing things will create a problem for the child to grasp things and for you to ensure they have all the knowledge required to become a responsible and good driver. Here are the five stages:
Learn about the vehicle
The first thing you need to teach the child is about the vehicle is about to drive. Most items in all the cars are the same; you should ensure that you tell them about its working. You can choose to give them hands-on demonstrations to get a clear idea of how to do certain things and what steps to take when they are stuck in emergencies with the vehicle. Before entering the next stage, your child should know how to:
- React in case of accidents
- Fasten a seat belt
- Change a flat tire
- Fuel the car
- Check and change engine oil
- Turn on and off the parking lights, headlights
- Understand the meaning of different warning signs
Basic Skill Level
In this stage, teach your child the skill to safely manoeuvre the vehicle. You can use a parking lot or an open ground with nobody there to give the driving lessons. This stage may take the longest time because it requires constant practice. Your child should get to know:
- The right reverse technique
- Shift gears
- Make turns correctly
- Give signals whenever turning
- Apply brakes smoothly
- Stay vigilant of the surroundings while driving.
Driving in the presence of other vehicles
Now, as your child is aware of the basic driving skills, he needs to start driving in the lanes with other drivers. You can start by giving them a chance to go on inner roads and later take them out on heavy traffic roads. At the end of this phase, the child must be confident with the vehicle and bale to:
- Drive compassionately
- Maintain a good distance from other vehicles when in traffic
- Make sensible lane changes without interrupting other drivers
- Navigate smoothly through intersections
Parking and turns
Parking a vehicle is a whole different thing than driving. One must have the right judgment and skill to park the car correctly. Some studies show that the number of teen accidents in parking lots is more than other causes. You should ensure regular practice for parking and making smooth turns. It is natural for teens to make large cuts to save the vehicle from hitting anything on the roadside. However, with practice, they will learn that a large cut on a turn is more dangerous and leads to accidents.
Advanced skills
When your child is prepared to drive on the lanes and has enough knowledge to make the right turns, the next stage is learning the advanced skills. As per the experts, the advanced stage comes more with experience and proficiency. It would help if you did not concentrate on this stage until the child is well trained in other stages. The final step should make your child comfortable in:
- Driving safely at night
- Driving smoothly on multilane, freeways, and merging lanes
- Safe and cautious driving in wet and snowy weather.
What road rules must you clarify while giving them driving lessons?
Giving your kids driving lessons also means preparing them for the upcoming responsibility. Every state has strict driving rules and regulations to ensure the safety of its citizens. Similarly, the driver must follow the rules and drive around sensibly. Here is a list of road rules your kids should know about:
- Drunken driving
Drunken driving is one of the main causes of road accidents worldwide. Every state has drunk driving rules, wherein the driver is not allowed to drive the vehicle under the influence of any toxic substance such as alcohol or drugs. Ensure that your child knows this and follows it religiously.
You should encourage your children to book a ride or call a cab when intoxicated or feel that the person they have to drive with is under the influence of some substance. If at all your child gets a DUI charge, you can look for a DUI lawyer for hire on the internet and consult them to defend the child. There are chances that your child is falsely accused of a DUI charge, so the lawyers can help support the case.
- Distractions
Driving on the streets is a responsible task. The driver must ensure that they have their focus on the road at all times and prevent any distractions. Encourage the child not to use their phone to make calls, text messaging, or videos while driving. Studies show that refraining your ids from doing certain things will not help. Instead, it would help if you gave them the solutions to these issues. For instance, tell them to pull over in a parking lot to answer urgent calls or stop at a roadside restaurant to click pictures and make videos of the vehicle on the road. In addition, you should set a good example in handling distractions while driving.
- Passengers
You must be aware of passenger age and number limitations while driving. Teen driving is considered risky; most states have set restrictions on co-passengers. So, read through the passenger rules and make your child understand the same. You can also consult an experienced lawyer to comprehend the regulations in a better way.
- Nighttime driving
Some countries have restrictions on provisional licenses for driving until midnight. Teen drivers may not be allowed to go past a certain time. If your state does not have any such rule, you can set a curfew time for your kids and prevent them from driving at night. Night driving is riskier than daytime for all drivers. It possesses even more risk when the driver is new and is still finding the right skill set for driving.
- Speeding and seatbelts
One of the most important lessons while making your teenage children sit behind the wheel is to drive under the speed limit. They should understand that speeding their vehicle can lead to serious consequences such as deadly crashes and license suspensions. Every time they surpass the speed limit, it adds to their license points and gets them a ticket. If your child does it repeatedly, you can begin making them pay for the speeding ticket, give a part of the auto insurance money, etc. You are responsible for teaching the children the value of driving on roads and always following the safety measures.
Tips for you to retain while giving your children driving lessons
It is typical for you to feel anxious and nervous while teaching your kids how to drive. So, it would help if you keep the following tips in mind to maintain the saneness and ensure safe and informative driving lessons.
- Be aware: As a coach, you must constantly stay aware of the surroundings while the teen is learning to drive. The children have yet not mastered the art of being aware of their surroundings. Therefore, to prevent any accidents and mishaps, you should stay aware.
- Ask questions to correct the mistakes: It is a psychological approach wherein instead of pointing out the error, you can ask questions around the same and make them aware of the surroundings. For example, if your child drives over speed, you should ask them about the speed limit in the particular area instead of saying you will get a speed ticket here. It will help them build the pattern of checking their surroundings and keep their limitations in mind.
- Start slow and build accordingly: Do not rush with the driving lessons. Every individual has their pace of grabbing things and putting them into practice. It would help if you let your teen take as much time as possible to get confident with the vehicle. You can start by
Final Words
Experts advise that parents should take their time to prepare themselves to be driving instructors to their kids. It can be hard mentally and emotionally. So, you can use the information here to build your skill. Patience and consistent effort is the key to success. Happy coaching.
