As we gear up for back-to-school season, many teens are anticipating learning to drive. Most states require teens to log a certain number of hours of supervised driving practice in order to earn their license. This year more than ever, parents have a lot on their plates. Teaching a teenager to drive can feel like a daunting and overwhelming task. We’re here to help. Here are five tips for teaching teens behind the wheel. Our hope is that these tips will help alleviate some of the stress involved with riding in the passenger seat!
1. Ask your teen to observe your driving.
Driving isn’t as simple as jumping in the car and hitting the gas! Before you hand your teen the keys, have them sit in the passenger seat and ask them to watch you closely. This can be more casual (i.e., no need to plan anything specific), so that they can get a feel for what you do while driving. Your teen has obviously been in the car with you for years! But they’re probably not always paying close attention to how you actually drive. As your teen observes your driving, invite them to ask any questions that come up.
2. Start in a comfortable environment.
When it’s time for your teen to take the wheel, start your lessons in low-risk environments. It would be overwhelming to drive on a fast-paced highway or complicated intersection on day one! Use streets your teen is familiar with, preferably ones with little traffic. Try to avoid adverse conditions like rain or driving at night. Save those more complicated lessons for when your teen is a little more comfortable behind the wheel.
3. Minimize distractions.
Most people know that distracted driving is dangerous. Teens are easily tempted to use their cell phone while driving. Model good behavior for your teen and never use your cell phone while driving. Some other common distractions include:
- Listening to music
- Conversations with passengers
- Eating or drinking
It’s especially important for first-time or novice drivers to focus all of their attention on the driving task. It’s your job to make sure your teen isn’t distracted during your behind-the-wheel training. Don’t let passengers tag along, as they could make your teen more nervous and distract them with conversations. Make sure you’re not distracted, either! Turn off the radio and put your phone and your teen’s phone out of sight. This way you can both focus on the task at hand.
4. Practice commentary driving.
Okay, so your teen might roll their eyes at you for this, but it works! Commentary driving is when the driver comments (out loud!) on the actions they are taking while driving. This also includes any observations the driver makes while driving, such as noticing that a light they’re approaching just turned yellow, or there’s a pedestrian entering a crosswalk ahead. This practice helps novice drivers keep their attention focused on the road.
Here’s an example of how commentary driving may sound:
"There’s a car turning left ahead. . . approaching a right turn. . . check mirrors and over the right shoulder, now reduce speed… activate the turn signals. . . mirrors are clear. . . check over shoulder again. . . making the right turn. . . car overtaking in the left lane. . . approaching intersection. . . yellow light is about to be red. . . better slow down to stop. . . watching those pedestrians just in case. . . stopping at the red light," etc.
Model commentary driving for your teen during the observation phase to teach them how it’s done. The more your teen drives, the easier it will be to keep their attention on the road without commentary driving.
5. Maintain a calm environment.
We understand how stressful it can be to teach your teen how to drive! Try your best to remain calm and avoid snapping at or yelling at your teen while they learn how to drive. Encourage and praise your teen for the things they do correctly. Instead of lecturing your teen, gently point out to them what they did wrong after the lesson. Try to keep your lessons short, and don’t overload your teen with new information all at once.
If tensions do get high while you’re giving your teen a driving lesson, don’t worry. It happens to the best teachers! Ask your teen to pull over in a safe spot. Once parked, you can both take a minute to regroup before hitting the road again. Sometimes, when a teen gets super overwhelmed or upset, that’s a sign that your lesson should be over for the day. Try again tomorrow!
Most states require teens to complete a certain number of hours of behind-the-wheel driver education with a professional. Some states, however, allow parents to take charge of their teens’ behind-the-wheel training. Safe2Drive offers Texas Parent Taught Behind-the-Wheel instruction so that parents can act as the instructor. Our Texas Parent Taught Behind-the-Wheel course is TDLR-approved and includes a step-by-step guide for in-car instruction. You can also bundle Texas behind-the-wheel instruction with online driver education with Safe2Drive! This is a great option for parents and teens in Texas, especially while everyone practices social distancing. Teens in Oklahoma can take our Oklahoma Parent-Taught Driver Education course. We also offer Iowa Parent-Taught Driver Education online, where the parents of homeschooled teens can become an instructor for their teen’s driver education.
Teaching your teen how to drive is a special time. We hope these tips help make the process a little easier! If your teen still needs to complete a driver education course, we hope you’ll check out our courses! We offer convenient online driver education courses for teens in many states. Click here to see if we offer a driver education course in your state!