How to Educate Your Teenager to Drive
In the following article, I use the pronouns"he" or"him" when I refer to teenage drivers. I do this just for convenience and to avoid confusion. If you need to instruct your teenage girl to drive, just substitute"she" or"her" for"he" or"him".
Measure One:
Start out in a really large parking lot that's empty most of the time. In our place, the Civic Center/Fair Grounds is the perfect place. Begin by getting your teen drive around the outside of the parking lot three or more times. Have him go no more than 20 miles/hour. Get him used to steering the car and using the accelerator and brake pedal.
Then have him practice backing and parking out of one of those parking stalls for a while. Then have him drive around the perimeter, but this time, in the contrary direction. Then you can practice parallel parking.
Our aim is to make you a responsible driver with our Expert Trainers & Driving Simulator. Build your confidence to drive with carefully designed courses at Aamco Driving School. Visit the website to get more information about the driving school - Driving Lessons
Next, have your adolescent make left and right turns. Have him move down and up the massive lot, telling him to turn at irregular periods. Make sure that he uses his turn signals. Emphasize both hands on the wheel, eyes straight forward, and also the old hand over hand turning fashion.
Additionally, pretend there are stoplights and stop signs. Tell your adolescent exactly where they are and do this well ahead of time. Teach him the gap between four-way two-way and stops. Tell him how red and yellow lights differ. Additionally, let him know how long yellowish lights usually last and when he should slow down or go through a yellow light. After a while, this will develop into a judgment call on his part.
Practice at the parking lot for your initial two or three hours of driving time. Your teenager should familiarize himself with all the car's controls and become confident in their own ability to steer the vehicle, use the reverse gear, accelerate, and slow the car down to a stop. Educate him how to put the parking brake and use his seat belts.
Once you believe your teenager is ready for some traffic, it is time to take him on county or lightly trafficked country streets.
Step Two:
Find country or county roads which are lightly trafficked and take your teenager out there. Stop by the side of the street and change drivers.
Then have your adolescent drive up and down these roads. Attempt to locate a place that has at least four or five country roads in a row. Then have him move down one, make either a right or left turn, and move up another street. Talk about the way he must accelerate up a mountain and be aware of cars he might not be able to see. Conversely, let's understand why he must slow down going down a hill, even if he sees no traffic coming.
On country or county streets, you shouldn't run into a lot of traffic. Where we live, we see mostly farming vehicles(tractors, etc) or trucks. Your teen will receive his first taste of pace as you encourage him to go at 50 mph or a bit faster than the posted speed limit. Have him work on using the brake far enough in advance so that he can come to a smooth stop at an intersection. Ensure that your teen signals for a left or right turn at least 30 feet before any junction.
Have him also practice searching for cross traffic at two-way stops. Make sure he knows he should accelerate coming from a turn so he could make an intersection as quickly as possible. Tell him not to be concerned about cars behind him; if you're on a two-lane street, the car behind could usually pass safely, especially if the road is right.
Practice with your adolescent five or more hours on these lightly trafficked county roads. When you feel he's ready, it is time for a few in-town driving with traffic.
Step Three:
We are living in a little very compact city. It's easy to get from 1 end to another in a quarter hour or so, even in case you catch all the red lights. No matter what type of city you reside in, now is the time for your teenager to select destinations and also to drive .
Have him drive to your favorite grocery shop. Once there, have him playground. Then have up him and find his way out of the lot. Then have him push to your usual gas station. He must learn how to fill the gasoline tank.
Next, have him push to his college. If you drive him to school, have him drive there and alter drivers since you drop off him. Be sure to pull completely off the road to the school parking lot before you change drivers. If you pick him up from college, he could even drive home.
Pick other nearby destinations, such as shops, churches, dentists, shopping malls, restaurants, etc.. If he doesn't know how to get to a place, attempt to provide him the easiest approach. Have him drive ANYWHERE you want to go.
The whole idea for this measure is to provide your adolescent his first taste of needing to drive in traffic as well as coping with stoplights. Try not to have your teenager drive any over 30 minutes at a time at this phase.
Once he's finished at least another five hours in average traffic, it's time to move on to harder things. Incidentally, any hour sums I provide in this article are minimal; you can have your teen drive more for every step if you think he needs the experience.
Step Four:
Depending on where you live, the weather can differ from day now. Have your teen drive in the rain, while it's snowing, at dusk/dawn and when it is completely dark. Make sure that he knows how to utilise his headlights. Show him how to turn on high beams along with also his fog lights and when/how to use them. Emphasise the prime significance of singling for a turn in unfavourable conditions.
Work on changing lanes. For instance, if you want your teen to earn a ideal turn, suggest he get into the right-hand lane. Make sure he uses his rearview mirror, the proper side mirror, which he takes a fast peek over his shoulder until he gets the lane change.
Have him tell you what the speed limit is in certain area and work with him to remain close to that rate. Inform him that he should drive as fast because it is secure, not always the speed limit. Suggest he go a bit faster on a road that is straight with dry conditions along with traffic. Make sure he knows why he should drive a little slower than the speed limit in wet conditions, in the dark or in dusk/dawn, or in very heavy traffic.
By this time, your adolescent should have the ability to drive about an hour at a time.
When he's yet another five hours or under his belt, it's time to proceed to more obstacles.
Step Five:
Now's the time to start taking your adolescent through some traffic struggles. Be sure to combine these struggles with a few easy traffic so he will remain confident in his driving ability.
Find construction zones and function with your teenager about the best way best to negotiate his way through these areas. Emphasise that he must move gradually. In our town, road construction seems to happen in the spring and summer months.
Also, have him drive in what you know are very heavily-trafficked areas. Have him drive these during evening and morning"rush" hours, if possible. Also, try lunchtime, typically between 11 am and 1 pm. Weekend times are great times also. The entire idea is to have him used to heavy and unpredictable traffic patterns.
See how he responds to sudden happenings. What does he say or do when someone cuts off him? How about if he gets someone moving too slowly? What does he say or do? An important thing to tell him would be to expect the unexpected, no matter what.
You have to keep in mind that so long as you are in the car with him, your teenager is going to respond the way he understands you'd approve. But he will drop his"mask" every now and then so it's possible to get an idea of exactly what he will do if he begins to drive alone.
Speak with your teenager about staying calm and offer him your best thoughts on what he should do when confronted with a particular driving situation.
Step Six:
Now that your adolescent has had at least 30 hours(or longer ) of expertise driving within the county or city, it is now time to take him out on the freeway.
Based on where you live, this may be no big thing. The nearest big cities to us are San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. I would not want my worst enemy to drive in Las Vegas or Toronto (in Ontario, Canada). Those two cities have some of the worst people I've ever seen. Chicago is quite bad too. Surprisingly, New York isn't too bad in any way.
Wherever you reside, your teenager should get accustomed to entering a freeway, exiting an expressway, learning how to pass a vehicle or truck safely, remaining in his lane, moving in a steady speed and so on. Where we live, you do not require the freeway unless you're going out of town. But if you live in Southern California or Phoenix or some other large metropolitan area, you really do need experience using the freeway or you would never be able to go anywhere.
Bottom line: if you live in a large city, you should focus at least 30 hours or more just on the freeway. Offer your teen hints on how to avoid the worst traffic. Inform him easy ways for a certain destination and what times are best. He'll also figure out his own ways to manage heavy traffic.
Conclusions:
In accordance with most driver education courses, your teen needs at least 50 hours of driving experience throughout the six months he retains his learner's license. Only then is he prepared to take the driver's test to receive his routine driver's license. I agree wholeheartedly, but I think 50 hours is a minimum. The more hours your teen spends behind the wheel, the better off he will be.
So get out there with him and push around. There's no substitute for real experience. The more your teen clinics, the better the driver he'll be.
Make sure to talk about alcohol abuse, medications, and some other distractions while he's driving. Always stress the importance of keeping both eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel.
Let your teenager know what can occur if he's pulled over for a DUI/DWI. Encourage him to keep away from drugs and alcohol. Inform him that when he belongs to a party and has a couple of drinks or smokes marijuana, he should call you. Of course, you need to be willing to pick him up, no questions asked. If your partner agrees, she/he can go with you and drive your teenager's car home. Or you may go back another day with your teen and he can drive his own vehicle home. When he does call you, then congratulate him on being mature enough to realize when he can't drive safely.
Also, speak with your adolescent about using his mobile phone while he pushes. If he likes to text message or speak to people while he's driving, set up his car so that he can pair his mobile phone with the car radio. He can speak to someone on his cell phone but has the potential to keep both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road. General Motors models can have this capacity built-in. I've also heard of an aftermarket plug for other models. But this if for talking just, not texting. Tell your teenager how dangerous it can be on a text message while he's driving. Let him know he should pull over to read and especially type a text message.
I have also told my son he shouldn't smoke or eat while he drives. Luckily, he doesn't smoke and I hope he never does. I've never noticed him trying to eat something while he pushes. I've heard of individuals who attempt to do three different things while they drive. 1 time my wife saw a girl putting on her makeup and brushing her hair while she was driving at freeway speed!
Also, he indicates that he drive just trustworthy friends around in his vehicle. You need to know these friends as well as their parents if possible. It is vital that the parents think the same way you do. Hopefully, your teen is not readily affected by his peers.
Recommend to your teen he shouldn't drive when he is mad, has a great deal on his head, or is just tired. Advise him that it is far better to walk up and down for a while to calm himself down. If he's tired or sleepy, let him understand that he should not drive at all. This is another time he can call a friend.
After at least 50 hours of driving experience, you might feel your adolescent is not emotionally mature enough to drive by himself. Let him understand why you think that and everything he needs to do to fix your perception. Also, if you don't feel he's skillful enough to push on his own yet, have a different driving instructor spend five or more hours with your teen. If he comes to the identical conclusion, ask the driving specialist what should be accomplished.
I have seen"how to drive" DVD's that are made by teens for teens. I'm giving these to my son for his 16th birthday. I can't wait to see it with him. Just look on the internet to see them. . These are great if you've got a teen that doesn't read much or learns better with visual cues.
It is my opinion that you ought to encourage your son or daughter to be independent of you as possible. If you know in your heart that your teen is going to be a good driver, then let him drive! Do not hold back him because of your own insecurities. Your teen has to develop and has to be able to function and browse the entire world without you. Give him the tools to accomplish this, he will enjoy it later. Perhaps if he is teaching his own teenager to drive!
Measure One:
Start out in a really large parking lot that's empty most of the time. In our place, the Civic Center/Fair Grounds is the perfect place. Begin by getting your teen drive around the outside of the parking lot three or more times. Have him go no more than 20 miles/hour. Get him used to steering the car and using the accelerator and brake pedal.
Then have him practice backing and parking out of one of those parking stalls for a while. Then have him drive around the perimeter, but this time, in the contrary direction. Then you can practice parallel parking.
Our aim is to make you a responsible driver with our Expert Trainers & Driving Simulator. Build your confidence to drive with carefully designed courses at Aamco Driving School. Visit the website to get more information about the driving school - Driving Lessons
Next, have your adolescent make left and right turns. Have him move down and up the massive lot, telling him to turn at irregular periods. Make sure that he uses his turn signals. Emphasize both hands on the wheel, eyes straight forward, and also the old hand over hand turning fashion.
Additionally, pretend there are stoplights and stop signs. Tell your adolescent exactly where they are and do this well ahead of time. Teach him the gap between four-way two-way and stops. Tell him how red and yellow lights differ. Additionally, let him know how long yellowish lights usually last and when he should slow down or go through a yellow light. After a while, this will develop into a judgment call on his part.
Practice at the parking lot for your initial two or three hours of driving time. Your teenager should familiarize himself with all the car's controls and become confident in their own ability to steer the vehicle, use the reverse gear, accelerate, and slow the car down to a stop. Educate him how to put the parking brake and use his seat belts.
Once you believe your teenager is ready for some traffic, it is time to take him on county or lightly trafficked country streets.
Step Two:
Find country or county roads which are lightly trafficked and take your teenager out there. Stop by the side of the street and change drivers.
Then have your adolescent drive up and down these roads. Attempt to locate a place that has at least four or five country roads in a row. Then have him move down one, make either a right or left turn, and move up another street. Talk about the way he must accelerate up a mountain and be aware of cars he might not be able to see. Conversely, let's understand why he must slow down going down a hill, even if he sees no traffic coming.
On country or county streets, you shouldn't run into a lot of traffic. Where we live, we see mostly farming vehicles(tractors, etc) or trucks. Your teen will receive his first taste of pace as you encourage him to go at 50 mph or a bit faster than the posted speed limit. Have him work on using the brake far enough in advance so that he can come to a smooth stop at an intersection. Ensure that your teen signals for a left or right turn at least 30 feet before any junction.
Have him also practice searching for cross traffic at two-way stops. Make sure he knows he should accelerate coming from a turn so he could make an intersection as quickly as possible. Tell him not to be concerned about cars behind him; if you're on a two-lane street, the car behind could usually pass safely, especially if the road is right.
Practice with your adolescent five or more hours on these lightly trafficked county roads. When you feel he's ready, it is time for a few in-town driving with traffic.
Step Three:
We are living in a little very compact city. It's easy to get from 1 end to another in a quarter hour or so, even in case you catch all the red lights. No matter what type of city you reside in, now is the time for your teenager to select destinations and also to drive .
Have him drive to your favorite grocery shop. Once there, have him playground. Then have up him and find his way out of the lot. Then have him push to your usual gas station. He must learn how to fill the gasoline tank.
Next, have him push to his college. If you drive him to school, have him drive there and alter drivers since you drop off him. Be sure to pull completely off the road to the school parking lot before you change drivers. If you pick him up from college, he could even drive home.
Pick other nearby destinations, such as shops, churches, dentists, shopping malls, restaurants, etc.. If he doesn't know how to get to a place, attempt to provide him the easiest approach. Have him drive ANYWHERE you want to go.
The whole idea for this measure is to provide your adolescent his first taste of needing to drive in traffic as well as coping with stoplights. Try not to have your teenager drive any over 30 minutes at a time at this phase.
Once he's finished at least another five hours in average traffic, it's time to move on to harder things. Incidentally, any hour sums I provide in this article are minimal; you can have your teen drive more for every step if you think he needs the experience.
Step Four:
Depending on where you live, the weather can differ from day now. Have your teen drive in the rain, while it's snowing, at dusk/dawn and when it is completely dark. Make sure that he knows how to utilise his headlights. Show him how to turn on high beams along with also his fog lights and when/how to use them. Emphasise the prime significance of singling for a turn in unfavourable conditions.
Work on changing lanes. For instance, if you want your teen to earn a ideal turn, suggest he get into the right-hand lane. Make sure he uses his rearview mirror, the proper side mirror, which he takes a fast peek over his shoulder until he gets the lane change.
Have him tell you what the speed limit is in certain area and work with him to remain close to that rate. Inform him that he should drive as fast because it is secure, not always the speed limit. Suggest he go a bit faster on a road that is straight with dry conditions along with traffic. Make sure he knows why he should drive a little slower than the speed limit in wet conditions, in the dark or in dusk/dawn, or in very heavy traffic.
By this time, your adolescent should have the ability to drive about an hour at a time.
When he's yet another five hours or under his belt, it's time to proceed to more obstacles.
Step Five:
Now's the time to start taking your adolescent through some traffic struggles. Be sure to combine these struggles with a few easy traffic so he will remain confident in his driving ability.
Find construction zones and function with your teenager about the best way best to negotiate his way through these areas. Emphasise that he must move gradually. In our town, road construction seems to happen in the spring and summer months.
Also, have him drive in what you know are very heavily-trafficked areas. Have him drive these during evening and morning"rush" hours, if possible. Also, try lunchtime, typically between 11 am and 1 pm. Weekend times are great times also. The entire idea is to have him used to heavy and unpredictable traffic patterns.
See how he responds to sudden happenings. What does he say or do when someone cuts off him? How about if he gets someone moving too slowly? What does he say or do? An important thing to tell him would be to expect the unexpected, no matter what.
You have to keep in mind that so long as you are in the car with him, your teenager is going to respond the way he understands you'd approve. But he will drop his"mask" every now and then so it's possible to get an idea of exactly what he will do if he begins to drive alone.
Speak with your teenager about staying calm and offer him your best thoughts on what he should do when confronted with a particular driving situation.
Step Six:
Now that your adolescent has had at least 30 hours(or longer ) of expertise driving within the county or city, it is now time to take him out on the freeway.
Based on where you live, this may be no big thing. The nearest big cities to us are San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. I would not want my worst enemy to drive in Las Vegas or Toronto (in Ontario, Canada). Those two cities have some of the worst people I've ever seen. Chicago is quite bad too. Surprisingly, New York isn't too bad in any way.
Wherever you reside, your teenager should get accustomed to entering a freeway, exiting an expressway, learning how to pass a vehicle or truck safely, remaining in his lane, moving in a steady speed and so on. Where we live, you do not require the freeway unless you're going out of town. But if you live in Southern California or Phoenix or some other large metropolitan area, you really do need experience using the freeway or you would never be able to go anywhere.
Bottom line: if you live in a large city, you should focus at least 30 hours or more just on the freeway. Offer your teen hints on how to avoid the worst traffic. Inform him easy ways for a certain destination and what times are best. He'll also figure out his own ways to manage heavy traffic.
Conclusions:
In accordance with most driver education courses, your teen needs at least 50 hours of driving experience throughout the six months he retains his learner's license. Only then is he prepared to take the driver's test to receive his routine driver's license. I agree wholeheartedly, but I think 50 hours is a minimum. The more hours your teen spends behind the wheel, the better off he will be.
So get out there with him and push around. There's no substitute for real experience. The more your teen clinics, the better the driver he'll be.
Make sure to talk about alcohol abuse, medications, and some other distractions while he's driving. Always stress the importance of keeping both eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel.
Let your teenager know what can occur if he's pulled over for a DUI/DWI. Encourage him to keep away from drugs and alcohol. Inform him that when he belongs to a party and has a couple of drinks or smokes marijuana, he should call you. Of course, you need to be willing to pick him up, no questions asked. If your partner agrees, she/he can go with you and drive your teenager's car home. Or you may go back another day with your teen and he can drive his own vehicle home. When he does call you, then congratulate him on being mature enough to realize when he can't drive safely.
Also, speak with your adolescent about using his mobile phone while he pushes. If he likes to text message or speak to people while he's driving, set up his car so that he can pair his mobile phone with the car radio. He can speak to someone on his cell phone but has the potential to keep both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road. General Motors models can have this capacity built-in. I've also heard of an aftermarket plug for other models. But this if for talking just, not texting. Tell your teenager how dangerous it can be on a text message while he's driving. Let him know he should pull over to read and especially type a text message.
I have also told my son he shouldn't smoke or eat while he drives. Luckily, he doesn't smoke and I hope he never does. I've never noticed him trying to eat something while he pushes. I've heard of individuals who attempt to do three different things while they drive. 1 time my wife saw a girl putting on her makeup and brushing her hair while she was driving at freeway speed!
Also, he indicates that he drive just trustworthy friends around in his vehicle. You need to know these friends as well as their parents if possible. It is vital that the parents think the same way you do. Hopefully, your teen is not readily affected by his peers.
Recommend to your teen he shouldn't drive when he is mad, has a great deal on his head, or is just tired. Advise him that it is far better to walk up and down for a while to calm himself down. If he's tired or sleepy, let him understand that he should not drive at all. This is another time he can call a friend.
After at least 50 hours of driving experience, you might feel your adolescent is not emotionally mature enough to drive by himself. Let him understand why you think that and everything he needs to do to fix your perception. Also, if you don't feel he's skillful enough to push on his own yet, have a different driving instructor spend five or more hours with your teen. If he comes to the identical conclusion, ask the driving specialist what should be accomplished.
I have seen"how to drive" DVD's that are made by teens for teens. I'm giving these to my son for his 16th birthday. I can't wait to see it with him. Just look on the internet to see them. . These are great if you've got a teen that doesn't read much or learns better with visual cues.
It is my opinion that you ought to encourage your son or daughter to be independent of you as possible. If you know in your heart that your teen is going to be a good driver, then let him drive! Do not hold back him because of your own insecurities. Your teen has to develop and has to be able to function and browse the entire world without you. Give him the tools to accomplish this, he will enjoy it later. Perhaps if he is teaching his own teenager to drive!
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