Have the thoughts of your own teen learning to drive make you cringe in the past? Do you dread the day your teen will be getting behind the wheel? Do you ask yourself how could you possibly let them out of the house with the car keys when you know you will no longer be in control, and you can no longer protect them? It really doesn’t have to be as terrifying as that. We started to build the foundation for good driving with our kids long ago, and you can too.
Learning to drive is not something a teen can do alone. It needs to be a learned process through good parenting. Setting a good example is the best way to teach. If you run through yellow lights, or yell at other drivers, or drive without your seatbelt, your children will think it is acceptable to ignore the rules of safe driving. Kids need to be talked to about safety early, before they reach driving age. Whenever a car leaves it’s parking place a parent, or other responsible adult, must be modeling safe driving behavior. Long before your children are learning to drive they need to know how to follow the rules and they need to have the consequences of breaking the rules very clearly outlined. When driving, a situation can quickly become a matter of life and death.
Teenagers dream about getting their license. It is a rite of passage they look forward to for months and years ahead of time. Having that piece of paper that gives official permission to get behind the wheel of a car opens up a whole new world of possibilities. So what can you do to make the process as smooth as possible, and where can you go for help?
Having the right information and the tools to transition yourself and your teen into the world of driving, can make your job much easier. Follow these simple steps to arm yourself with resources ahead of time.
1) Visit your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles website. If you don’t know what yours is you can check out the website at http://www.drivers.com/article/639/ for links to official state driving sites in the United States and Canada.
2) Visit your insurance agent. This is the time to find out about safe driver discounts and good student discounts. Many insurance companies have their own training tools to assist parents and teens with the process of getting behind the wheel for the first time.
3) Find out about driver’s education course availability in your area. Many schools provide drivers education as an elective curriculum choice and some have summer school programs for driver’s education. If there is not a driver’s education course through your school there are often private driving education courses available for a fee. These classes can be invaluable in teaching the rules of the road and making a lasting impression about good driving habits. For parents, head in hands, eyes closed and hunched over in the passenger seat, the process of teaching their son or daughter to drive may feel like a bad dream. The stress only increases with having your new driver on the road. A driver’s education course will provide tips to prepare your teen to become a safe driver and hopefully reduce everyone’s anxiety level!
4) Decide how you are going to help your teen understand the responsibilities that come with the privilege of driving. Consider developing a written contract with your teen driver to clearly state the rules for driving and the consequences for breaking them. A contract should be signed by both the teen and the parent and should address a variety of topics including, but not limited to:
a. The car – which car your teen can drive, who pays for gas, oil, etc, who pays for insurance
b. Safety – obeying traffic laws, no drinking/drug use,
rules about passengers cell phone use, curfew, communication with parents
c. Consequences for breach of contract/breaking rules.
Don’t let yourself dread the day your teen starts driving. Arm yourself with these tools to make that transition as smooth and painless as possible. See you on the road!