PLEASE READ THIS FIRST
A woman learning how to drive crashes
into a church and dies
Authorities say a husband was teaching his wife how to
drive when she drove off the roadway and struck a church. She was pronounced
dead at the scene.
Teaching your teenager to
drive
As you read above teaching
anyone to drive is no game, and something that most parents tackle at some time
or another. Many parents and teens have great trepidation and fear for this
event. Though it can be a real “nerve tester”, done right, it can be a safe,
bonding and even enjoyable experience for both parent and teen. Below are some
ideas which will help you teach your teen to drive
while maintaining an era of safety. Your attitude as the adult teacher is
critical. Calm, relaxed, controlled demeanor on your part will cross over to
your teen.
SOMETHINGS MAY BE NEW
Review Digest of
In this publication you will
be reminded of things you may have forgotten and some things that are new to
you. You can also talk with your teen about the things they are learning in
their driver education class.
Hand Positions Maybe New to You the Parent
When I was taught to drive,
and I suspect you too, I was taught that the hands should be at the
Stopping at stop signs – One and Two stop cases
Again some things have
changed and stop signs are not exempt. Today we teach 3 different approaches to
the Stop Signed Intersections. As you approach a stop intersection you must
keep your eyes moving gathering as much information about the intersection,
pedestrians, and other vehicles as you can. As you get close to your stop you
must look for and stop at one of three stopping points. FIRST Stopping Point: White Stop Lines which are painted
on the road surface and designate where you’re to stop your car’s bumper. At
any white stop line you must stop before the vehicle passes the line preferably
8 to 10 inches before the line. SECOND
Stopping Point: If you do not see a white stop line then you look for a Sidewalk.
Stop your vehicle just 8 to 10 inches before the sidewalk leaving room for
pedestrians to cross. THIRD Stopping
Point: At intersections where neither a white line or sidewalk are present
you can stop your vehicle at Point-of-Vision (POV) which is just
before the edge of the intersecting roadway, making certain your front bumper
does not cross over into the street. All three of these are first stopping
positions. Now if you stop at either a white line or a sidewalk, and you cannot
see clearly in both directions at least 200 feet, then you must make a 2nd
stop at the POV (see Chart). For example; this is done by making a complete stop
at the white line, after stopping and looking both ways, you realize you cannot
clearly see in one or both directions, you move your vehicle forward to the POV
and make a complete stop again, looking both ways, left and right till traffic
is clear then proceed with caution.
Running commentary
Running commentary is a
useful technique that is implemented by most driver training instructors to
help new drivers learn to identify and react to conditions, situations and
dangers that change constantly any time you drive. It will help you focus on
the task at hand, namely teaching your teen to drive.
Just driving and talking about things not pertaining driving can befall anyone
including the seasoned instructor, if we are not focused, on learning to drive.
Calmly talk with your teen telling them what you are seeing as they drive and
asking them from time to time what they are seeing, preparing them to see in
advance what is ahead greatly reduces risk that they will be caught off guard.
Example: “As we approach this intersection I see that truck on the left with
his left turn signal and he seems to be waiting, and I see two people at the
corner who may step out in front of us…” This helps the new driver to better
understand the many things that must be done in order to safely drive on
today’s busy roads. As a seasoned driver you do this without thinking, now you
can pass some of your experience onto your teenager.
FIRST STEP (5 MPH -25 MPH)
Parking lots are good for first time with your teen Behind-The-Wheel
(BTW)
Never put yourself in
unnecessary and risky situations. Often parents boldly jump in with both feet,
having their teen jumping into dangerous driving conditions on their first time
out BTW. This can lead to crashes and even death. It is difficult to impossible
to control the vehicle from the passenger side without specialized equipment
and this inability to control is unnerving for the parent and the student.
Speed will multiply the danger and the results from higher speed crashes can be
deadly. You can reduce risk: Avoid the fast lanes by taking your new driver to
a large vacant parking area where there is little to no traffic and allow your
new driver to get used to the vehicle in small steps. Areas where there is
plenty of room to maneuver safely, not busy malls. This will reduce risk, and
tension making the whole experience more productive, enjoyable and safe.
¨
Check around your
vehicle for objects that may be in your intended path and could cause damage.
¨
Getting familiar
with the vehicle help to relax the student. Never assume that your teen knows
anything. Simple things to you like where is the gas gauge and how do you read
it, may be a point of stress for the new driver. Take time to point out the
“where’s and how’s” of the dashboard and floor areas. Where should your left
foot be? Where is the Temperature Gauge? Show me the Brake and the Gas and
Parking Brake. How do you use the defroster, the A/C, and heater? What do all
the “Red Lights” mean?
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Adjust seats,
mirrors, and steering wheel.
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Always: All
passengers fasten seatbelts.
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Putting the
vehicle into motion – Teach your teen how to gently squeeze the accelerator for
smooth starting.
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Stopping the vehicle.
– Practice stopping without jerky movements and at designated points, by
squeezing the brake with slight release just before the stop. (You can use the
lines in the parking lot for stopping points.) Have the student look at a point
200 to 300 feet away and drive to that point and stop at a designated place,
all the time watching for other vehicles.
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Practicing Left
and Right turning maneuvers. Using painted lanes as turning points can help the
new driver to look ahead to their turn and plan the proper course of action.
¨
Practice looking
over the right and left shoulders (checking blind spots) while keeping the
vehicle in a straight path. Relax arms and shoulders to keep from pushing or pulling
the steering wheel causing the vehicle to veer out of the lane.
Whenever you drive with your
teen keep your instructions simple and clear don’t give too much information.
Remember that what they learn should be stretched out over 50 hours of driving
time so you don’t want to overburden your new driver, let them learn gradually.
SECOND STEP (25 MPH -35 MPH)
From Parking Lot to the Street
Once you and your new driver
have built confidence you are ready to move to the streets. The neighborhood is
a good place to begin. Plenty of stop streets with speeds of 25 MPH and because
you started off slowly you will have less anxiety and be more positioned to
help and teach your teen.
¨
Reinforce
previously learned material such as:
o
Stopping points
White Lines, Sidewalks & Point of Vision
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Scanning is
critical and can be used to keep drivers safe. Look to both sides right and left and using
mirrors check the rear of the
vehicle. Practice looking 8 to 10 seconds ahead
of your vehicle. Look for traffic signs, road markings, and signals as you
approach intersections. Have your teen point out these signs as you drive. Also
look for changes in traffic and for vehicles that might be too close to you.
Help your new driver to practice keeping space around their vehicle by identifying
the danger and either slowing or changing lanes. This keeps space around you so
you have more time to reacted should anything happen.
¨
Point out and
talk about cross traffic and pedestrians. Talk about who has right of way.
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Ask your new
driver to point out some of the dangers as they drive. Children playing, cars
backing out of driveways, bicycles, parked vehicles with driver or passenger
who may open a door, animals and others.
THIRD STEP (35 MPH - 55 MPH)
Faster Country Roads
When you feel you and your
teen are both ready you can take a short enjoyable road trip to some of
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Longer stopping:
Because of greater speeds have teens practice stopping earlier.
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Hills and Turns:
Have your teen point out and discuss why these areas are called “blind areas”.
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Passing and
no-passing zones: Help them understand the differences between solid and dashed
yellow lines.
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A little
patience: Something we all need teach patience while behind slow moving traffic
such as farm vehicles
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Animals:
Especially around dawn and dusk animals like deer, possum and raccoons can be a
hazard.
FOURTH STEP (55 MPH - 65 MPH)
Interstates
Now that your new driver has
accumulated and practiced driving skills in the previous steps they are more
confident and relaxed. The skills such as turning their heads to check
blind-spots and driving the vehicle in a straight line while looking over there
shoulder will greatly benefit the teens as they drive for the first time on an
Interstate highway. Remember your attitude è Calm, relaxed, controlled.
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Review proper
passing; lane changes and merging.
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Review the
procedure for using the acceleration ramp and checking for traffic.
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Review merging in
with moving traffic.
o
Note: Never stop
at the end of an acceleration ramp. If needed use the shoulder of the road
ahead. This will prevent being rear-ended by another vehicle entering the
expressway.
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Once on the
expressway practice changing lanes, passing and exiting.
FIFTH STEP (25 MPH – 35 MPH)
City Driving
Don’t be fooled by the
speeds, city driving has been saved for the last step because of the multiple
threats and for tremendous challenges it poses to drivers young and old. The
expressway may move at faster speeds, but in the city more happens and it
happens quickly. More vehicles, buses, delivery trucks, pedestrians, complex
intersections, short notice changes in traffic patterns, constant changing of
lanes and stop and go traffic. Not a place for the novice and never a good
place to start learning. But now that you have done the first four steps, your
teen should have enough experience to bring calm to this new learning endeavor.
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Plan you city trip
ahead of time to be during the daytime while most people are at work, not
during rush hour when people are going to or from work or lunch.
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As you drive pay
special attention, pointing out lane position signs early so you are always in
the proper lane for your intended path.
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To help keep
things calm, give instruction well in advance of turns and lane changes giving
your teen as much time to think as possible.
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If your driver
makes a mistake, for example gets in the wrong lane and is forced to turn, it
is ok, just turn. Point out what happened and help them learn. Try again. Don’t
expect your new driver to make the quick changes that you might be able to do
easily yourself; it might not be so easy for them. Better to use plan B.
Most importantly - you need to encourage your teen. Remember they
are nervous and encouraging, calm words will help them relax and be a better,
safer driver Here
are a few phrases that might help– You’re doing a good job, I’m proud of you, you’re
such a good driver, I think I could sleep while you drive, I’m going to let you
drive me everywhere from now on, don’t worry about that mistake – just learn
from it. .
We hope this will help you to
work together with your teen, a partnership in education, a preparation for a
long and safe driving future. Best wishes to you all from all of us at