How to Teach Your Teenager to Drive

Learning to drive is a milestone in every teenager's life. Your son or daughter probably started bugging you to get behind the wheel the minute they turned old enough to be legal. If you've been putting off teaching your teenager how to drive, stop! It doesn't have to be a stressful, dreaded experience. Follow the steps outlined here to teach your teenager to drive and the experience will be rewarding for all involved.

Pick up a copy of the drivers training manual for your state from the local Department of Motor Vehicle Safety Division. Have your teen spend time each day studying the manual in preparation of the permit test. After a week of studying, look through the book and ask your teen questions to see how much information they are retaining. If he can answer all of your questions successfully, take him for the learner's permit test. If he is missing quite a few, allow whatever extra amount of time needed for study until he is able to answer questions to your satisfaction.

Teach your teenager about all the basic functions of a vehicle. Show them how the wipers, blinkers, lights and seat adjustments work. Go over mirror usage and climate controls. Explain how the defroster and hazard lights work, along with any other general information he or she needs to know to operate the vehicle safely.

Find an empty parking lot if possible to begin to teach your teenager to drive. Empty parking lots are good because they have enough space and you can set out orange construction cones or use chalk to outline sections for driving instruction. Use the cones or draw chalk outlines to represent the following: a box to practice backing into, a place to parallel park, and a stop line for braking practice.

Begin the lesson by having your teenager drive forward at a rate of speed between ten and fifteen miles an hour and stop when you say so. This is one of the task performed during driving test, so all teens should learn and be prepared for it. If he or she does not stop quickly, redo the test by having them back up to the start position. It is imperative they hit the brakes quickly and stop the car as fast as possible. This is a technique used to prevent accidents when people run out in front of cars. It helps build the reflexes that allow for faster stopping in emergencies.

Practice correct backing techniques when teaching your teenager to drive. Have him pull forward to the stop line, and then back up slowly, using the side and front mirror, and looking over his shoulder periodically. A driving instructor will check that he is using both mirrors and looking over his shoulder during the test. Make sure he is capable of backing in a straight line.

Tell your teen to pull the car forward to the stop line and then practice the three-point turn for the next exercise. He or she should be able to back into a box the size of a parking spot without going over the chalk line or hitting any cones and then pull out the other direction to drive forward. Also, ensure he does not go over into where the oncoming lane of traffic would be when pulling forward.

Practice pulling into and out of regular parking spots and parallel parking. If you are teaching your teenager to drive in a manual transmission, make sure to go over braking and stopping on hills.

Head out on the open road! Once all the basics are learned in the parking lot, your teenager is ready to try his hand driving on real roads. It's best to start on small roads with less traffic if possible. Heavily trafficked roads will make teens more nervous and provide distractions they do not need when first learning to drive on the open road. The first things to practice are staying between the lines, proper spacing between him and the car ahead, using turn signals and wipers while driving, slowing for turns and turning while staying in his own lane, and proper braking procedures. Use back roads for at least a couple of weeks.

Move to more congested areas after your teen has mastered the basics. It is essential parents teach teens to drive on busy streets and interstates. Teenagers need to overcome nervousness associated with more traffic to be well-rounded drivers. Do not neglect this aspect of training.

Allow your teenager to drive to different sections of town, on long commutes, and in other states without offering advice after training is complete. Once they are capable of making all the right decisions, take them for the driving test.

The main thing to remember through all training is to keep your cool. Do not yell at your teenager if he makes a mistake! Yelling is only going to make him nervous and lead to accidents. Calmly tell him what he did wrong and explain how to do it correctly. Keep your hand close to the parking brake in case of an emergency that requires immediate action, but do not grab the wheel or scream because this sometimes has the opposite effect. Remember how scared you were when learning to drive to keep things in perspective.

Speak firmly but calmly and reiterate the correct way to do anything your teen does wrong. Do not speak down to them or make them feel stupid for mistakes. Praise your teen when they do a good job. Be low key and encouraging and things will go much more smoothly. Go over each step and practice as much as needed. There is no need to hurry when teaching someone to drive. Ask another adult to help if possible to give yourself a break and reduce stress involved with the process of teaching your teenager to drive.

Keep everything in perspective, stay relaxed and calm, and have fun. You will only have one chance to teach your teenager to drive, make it an experience you can both look back on fondly.

Resources:

Personal experience as a License Examiner who gave driving tests and as a mother who taught her son to drive.