Posted by Fleet Safety
Teenage years are an eventful time, especially when they are in the age group of finding their balance, wanting their freedom and asserting their individuality. And getting their driver’s licence is a big part of growing up and wanting to be free. But before we can start rooting for their new journey, there are the driving lessons that need to be done. Canadian parents plan on being involved in teaching their teenagers to drive, found a survey. Additionally, Fleet Safety International found that over half of the parents claimed to help teach their teen two or more lessons per week. While this is great on the account that parents are taking more involved in the learning process of their teens. It also could mean a lot of stress because, let’s face it, training your teen while they are in the driver’s seat can be a bit stressful.
So, here are helpful tips that can help you teach your teen without losing control or your sanity!
1. Keep your calm and appear to be in control. Of course, it is an unnerving experience for your teen who has never driven before and is oblivious of a lot of basic stuff. Keeping you cool is most essential. Simply because if the person doing the lessons is as anxious as the student, things will most certainly worsen. The thing to remember is that your teen is already tense and also eager to learn. Your patience and calmness will go a long way in letting the lessons happen smoothly, where your teen can focus on what you are trying to teach instead of your reactions.
2. Constantly looking around and keeping your eyes moving around you is highly recommended. This serves as a safety tool in your arsenal when your teen has control of the driving seat but isn’t experienced enough to identify the possible red flags. Whereas you can not only look around to ward off any potential dangers, it also serves as an excellent lesson for the new learning driver to make a note of and a habit to form when driving. There’s no better way of teaching your teen the importance of being vigilant while in the driver’s seat than practising it yourself when you are out on a lesson with them.
3. Complete an online driving programme aimed at parents planning on guiding their teens first hand. This is extremely useful for parents as the course can get them feeling more confident and update them regarding their knowledge of the latest driving laws. Let’s face it, and it’s one thing driving yourself and quite another teaching your teen. Courses, like Teach Your Teen To Drive are an online defensive driving toolkit for parents that helps them keep up-to-date road rules, including driving techniques into 19 modules for real-world driving opportunities. What’s more, the modules in this course cover essential and timely topics relevant to young drivers. The modules also focus on Driving for the First Time, Winter Driving, and Freeways and Highways.
Conclusion
It’s helpful if you keep in mind that it’s a phase in your teen’s life that has them excited and anxious despite the stress involved. Chances are there will be a lot of practice before things get perfect. And in the meantime, following these tips might help you sail through as your teen has control of your driving seat!
For more driving training information, explore our driver training programs at Fleet Safety International. Our courses help new drivers, commuters, corporate and commercial drivers learn the SAFER™ System of defensive driving. To sign up for a defensive driving course or in-vehicle training at our driving school in Calgary, get in touch with us today to see how we can help!