Getting your teen a car is a big step in life. Yet they may crash pretty early on. However, you can help your teenagers be better drivers using technology and your knowledge and wisdom.
Make Sure they Know What to Do in an Emergency
No matter how old you are, a car accident can be scary, and it’s hard to be ready no matter what. And if the worst comes to pass, your teen could get into a lot of trouble. Teach them how to exchange information and ensure they have all the paperwork they need in their car. If you’re worried about how good your teen driver is, you might also want to look into a car accident lawyer to ensure you’re covered if something terrible happens. Lawyers can help you determine who is at fault or stand up for your teen if needed.
Help Your Teenagers be Better Drivers with the Basics
Take your teen to an empty parking lot in your neighbourhood several times before they get their license. Give them a chance to drive while you explain the rules and safety measures in detail. This will help them get ready to drive. Also, show them how everything works in the car. How to turn the lights, wipers, defroster, and other things. Have them read the car’s manual to find out what the different warning lights mean so that if something goes wrong, they won’t panic. We tend to forget a lot of little things, which can help you brush up on skills too.
Convey the Importance of Staying Calm
Teens will make mistakes when they drive, and that’s okay. Many parents make the mistake of being impatient and arguing with their kids, which is not helpful. It will make a car feel tense, which is unsuitable for learning. Be patient. If either of you starts to get angry, stop for the day and try again another time. You don’t want this to turn into a fight between you and your child, and you want your child to think of the whole thing in a good light. When they are ready to go out on their own, this will give them more confidence.
Understand Why they Want to Drive
Driving teaches teens how to be responsible, and it’s a big step toward being on their own. This seems to be getting more critical for this generation, as many of them, believe it or not, don’t want to get a driver’s license. But if you want to feel better, you might want your teen to sign a new driver’s contract. So, everyone knows the rules and what will happen if they break them. Getting your teen a driver’s license can also make your life easier because you won’t have to drive them everywhere. And you can get them to help with household responsibilities.
Technology and Apps for Driving
Your teen is likely tech-savvy, so use that to your advantage. Most will have a smartphone. And like everything, there’s an app for helping with driving. There are many apps and technologies for making your teens better drivers. Here are some of the most useful:
- Bounce works like telematics and constantly assesses your teens’ driving habits.
- Smart keys let you program things like speed limiting and do not disturb modes.
- You can virtually join your teen in the car with apps like TrueMotion Family.
- License+ helps teens drive better by assessing their speed, acceleration, and braking.
- Driving simulators like Driving XE for the Xbox can help them be more responsible.
Driving isn’t as easy as most people think. So it’s no surprise that over 30% of teen deaths are from tragic driving accidents. But modern technology can help your teen become better drivers and give you a front-row passenger seat to assess their driving skills.
Expose them to Different Scenarios
On the road, a driver will face many different situations. And parents should encourage and watch their kids practice driving in different places. Give your teen a chance to drive in different conditions, and show them how to handle each one correctly. This should include driving in different kinds of weather and on different types of roads, like highways, neighbourhood streets, and school zones. One thing you want to avoid is surprising a new driver with something they have never seen before, or you risk a panic situation.
Teach them Basic Safety
If you give your teen a good start, they should grow up to be a good driver who is responsible. Even though most teenagers will take some kind of driver’s education, there are a lot of rules on the road that are easy to forget. Before letting your teen drive on their own, reviewing what they’ve learned can be helpful, so it’s still fresh in their minds when they’re behind the wheel. You can also help them understand how important things like oil, water, and tire tread are. These are the most basic yet essential safety features before driving a car.
Make a Plan to Help Your Teenagers be Better Drivers
Most of the time, it’s best to teach your teen one driving skill at a time and to keep the first few lessons short. It will keep you both from worrying too much about everything. For example, Mondays could be about keeping the proper distance, and Tuesdays could be spent in a parking lot learning how to park. So, your teen won’t get too much information all at once, and you won’t have to teach them everything at once. Taking your time is okay because this is where you can teach them how to drive right. These all make a big difference in their training and driving tests.
Stay Patient with Your Teens
When your teen is learning to drive, the best thing you can do is to be as patient as you can. Of course, they will make mistakes and do something that will drive you crazy, but you probably did the same things to your parents. To help your teen driver become the best they can be, you should give them the help they need to drive with confidence. As a parent, it can be hard to see your teenager learn how to drive, but once they do, you can rest easy knowing they’ve become more independent. This is often the first step towards their adulthood into their college years.
Summary
You can help your teenagers be better drivers in numerous ways. Always teach them what to do in an emergency, use tech and apps to aid them, and be patient as they learn to drive.
