It might be useful to be armed with a few tips before you embark on the learning journey, to help calm your nerves and prepare you for the learning curve for everyone.
Talk through the options
Your teenager might be really keen to get some independence by gaining a license to drive a vehicle such as a moped, motorcycle, or car. They will have an idea of what best suits their needs and finances and you may well have some reservations about what they plan to use.
Take the opportunity to have a chat through what they want to use and go through the pros and cons of that mode of transport. A lot of parents are apprehensive about their teens using a motorcycle and it’s worth noting that motorcycle accidents are 27x more fatal than car accidents.
Many teens will have strong opinions on what they plan to drive and ride, but it’s always wise to express your concerns for them to consider.
Take them out in the car
That initial first drive will be really exciting for them but perhaps a little daunting for you. Keep it simple and don’t be tempted to go somewhere that has lots of cars and people around.
You need to choose a wide open space, like a car park that is empty (or fairly empty). That way you can rest assured that they can get to grips with the workings of the car and make some maneuvers without the risk of hitting other cars.
It’s important for them to spend some time getting comfortable in the car and familiarizing themselves with how things work - such as the windscreen wipers, how to switch on the lights, how to move the seat into the correct position for them and positioning mirrors so that they have good visuals around the car.
Remember that they need to be learning the ‘correct’ ways of driving and not those that you have adopted along the way. We all fall into practices that we weren’t taught, but for the purpose of their eventual test with an examiner, they will need to do things according to the book.
Don’t lose your cool
This is easier said than done, but try to react too much to mistakes that they make. Of course, it’s no fun not having a brake pedal in front of you like a driving instructor would have, but it’s your responsibility to not exacerbate a situation by causing the learner driver to panic and make mistakes, that could be dangerous.
We can all remember what it’s like being a new driver and how easy it can be to get distracted as well as how it takes a little while to get to grips with all of the actions that you need to do when driving a car.
Your job is to guide them through the learning process as steadily as you can, without too many bumps along the road, so to speak.
