You’ve taken great care to make sure your teen has passed their driving test and you’ve let them drive you around town and on the highway. Even so, it can be with great trepidation that you hand the keys to your teen and let them drive away on their own. However, once you feel that they’ve mastered these six skills, you can have peace of mind that they’ll be good drivers.
Stopping and Going Safely
Teens need to understand the basic fundamentals of driving. One of them is learning how to brake and stop properly. They need to know how long it takes for the car to stop to avoid a collision as well as how much brake pressure it takes to stop smoothly and on time.
Entering the highway and merging with traffic is also important. They need to know just how much acceleration is needed to safely get onto the road. Then, they need to know how to get into the proper lane quickly and safely. Once they learn how to use their turn indicators, look carefully in their mirrors, and over their shoulders to cover the blind-spot on the car, they’ll have lane changing mastered.
Parking in Parking Lots and on Streets
Parking is another crucial skill to master. Teens need to know how to maneuver through busy parking lots and how to pull in and out of parking spots. Parking on city streets can be challenging, so it’s important for them to learn how to parallel park. In addition, if parking on a hilly street, your teen needs to know how to angle the tires into the curb properly and why it’s important to apply the emergency brake when parked.
Understanding Road Signs
In order for your teen to arrive safely at their destination, they need to understand how to properly read road signs. Teaching them in a classroom-setting lets them learn and absorb the different signs and their meanings. Armed with this knowledge, they are better prepared to understand what the symbols and verbiage mean.
Driving at Night
Night driving has its own sets of challenges. Bright oncoming headlights can hurt the eyes, darkness can reduce visibility, and teens need to be aware of drivers who may be impaired. It’s important for drivers to know when to dim their own headlights so other drivers aren’t blinded by the bright lights.
Understanding Driving Laws
Knowing speed limits, safe distances between cars, right-of-ways, seat belt laws, driving in school zones, and hands-free driving are vital skills for any driver to understand.
What to Do in an Emergency
If something happens to the car, like getting a flat tire or if your teen is involved in a fender bender, they need to know who to call. Teach them how to turn on the emergency flashers and how to call for road-side assistance or a tow truck. Mastering their emotions during an emergency is one of the best skills they can learn.
In addition to having your teen master these skills, consider getting them a car that has advanced safety and driver-assist features such as lane assist systems, automatic high-beam headlights, collision warnings, and blind-spot monitoring.
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