Put Your Child Through The Paces - While You Are In The Car

The Driver Education In-Car Training provided by our public school systems is really only a starting point for teaching your teen to drive safely. I recommend no less than 100 hours driving time for your child with a parent in the passenger seat before you let them out on his or her own. One thing that you should do when teaching your child how to drive is teach them how to deal with stressful and dangerous situations while you are there to talk them through it. For example, I advise that you take them to an abandoned, low traffic road and with them observing in the passenger seat, you drive off the road and talk them through the process of getting the car back on the road in a safe manner. Too often, young drivers faced with this situation will over correct and jerk the wheel too forcefully. This can lead to losing control of the vehicle. Let them gain experience with this type of emergency maneuver while you are teaching and talking them through it. When you feel that they are ready, have them drive off the road and bring the car safely back onto the road. Another great learning experience is 5:00 traffic. They are going to have to drive it eventually; don't you want to make sure that you have taught them how before they tackle it on their own? Make it a point, when you think they are ready, to have them drive in stressful traffic situations, including traffic to and from ball games and concerts. If they have done this with you in the passenger seat, then when they are driving with a distracting friend in the seat beside them, they stand a much better chance of handling safely. Try to think of any other situations that might require your help and seek those out while you are still training them. We hope you strive to teach your child safe driving habits from vehicle maintenance to traffic lights, to highway safety and even map reading.