5 Tips for How to Teach Your Teen to Drive
Do you remember when you started driving? It might seem like a lifetime ago. Perhaps your mom or dad took you to an empty parking lot to practice your parallel parking skills, or maybe you took driver’s education classes at your high school.
Now the tables have turned and you’re the proud parent of a young driver who’s eager to get out on the road.
Teaching your son or daughter to drive is a daunting task! It’s natural to have a lot of questions about how to best prepare your child for the road, and Virginia Tire & Auto is here to help.
We spoke with Sundas Ahmad, the owner of NOVA Driving School in Aldie, Virginia, to get some tips of how to teach a teen to drive. Ahmad has been teaching teens to drive for the past five years and has seen his share of drivers anxious to hit the road.
“In my experience, new drivers are very smart and eager to learn. Most of them follow the rules to a ‘T’, but we as adults need to lead by example,” Ahmad says.
Let’s start with safety first. Here are some helpful tips for parents whose teens are getting behind the wheel.
How to Teach a Teenager to Drive: 5 Safety Tips
1. Put the phone away.
Teaching teenagers about the consequences of cell phone use while driving is vital to their safety and the safety of other drivers. Reiterate to your child that whatever the call or text is, it can wait.
Plus, it’s against the law in Virginia for any driver to use a cell phone (hands-free or not) while driving. So unless your car is safely parked or in the event of an extreme emergency, it is never okay to look at your phone.
2. Maintain a safe distance while following.
Keeping a good distance behind other vehicles can be tricky for new drivers. Teens need plenty of practice gauging how much distance they should keep between their vehicle and the one they’re following.
When you’re driving with your teen, it helps to ask, “How many seconds are there between you and the driver we are following?” The 3-second rule applies here—counting to three at a normal pace will allow plenty of distance between your car and the one you’re following.
3. Pay extra attention at night.
The dynamics of driving change when the sun goes down. It’s important to make sure that your teen has ample experience with nighttime driving before getting his or her license.
Confirm that the vehicle your teen is driving has working headlights that are aimed correctly and ensure that all mirrors are cleaned and adjusted for maximum visibility. Discourage your teen from staring directly at oncoming lights, and, ultimately, implore them to pay extra attention while driving at night.
Virginia law states that if you are under the age of 18, you are prohibited from driving between midnight and 4:00 a.m. (with some exceptions).
4. Buckle up.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 47% of people killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2017 were not wearing a seatbelt.
Telling your teen to wear a seatbelt might seem like a no-brainer, but this simple tip should not be overlooked. Airbags alone do not provide enough protection, and there is a right way to wear a seatbelt. Make sure your teen buckles up with the strap across the chest, not underneath the arm.
5. Be a good role model.
Practicing what you preach can be difficult, but it’s important to follow these tips for your own safety as well as your child’s.
In fact, at the NOVA Driving School, Ahmad tells parents that this is the most effective way to keep their kids safe.
“Kids learn by watching their parents drive. What they have seen is what they will do,” Ahmad says.
If you follow the rules of the road and drive safely, your teen is more likely to do that, too.
Driving In Virginia
Every state has its own challenges for young drivers. In some states, it’s the weather or road conditions.
In Northern Virginia, it’s the number of cars sharing the road with you.
“We live in a very high traffic and busy area. People travel in and out of the D.C. metro area on a daily basis, making for congestion on the roads. That traffic can be tricky for teens who are new to driving,” Ahmad says.
New drivers must practice driving on multiple-lane highways with supervision so that they learn how to merge lanes safely and stay patient in traffic.
Car Maintenance Basics
For teen drivers, learning how to drive is just the beginning. It is also vital that they learn how to take good care of a car. Regardless of when you learned the basics of car maintenance, it’s in your best interest to teach your teen about car care before they take to the open road without you.
Basic maintenance knowledge like changing a flat tire and checking tire pressure should be addressed early on in the learning process. Now is your best opportunity to roll up your sleeves and teach your teen driver.
Read: The Car Maintenance Checklist Every Driver Needs
When possible, show them how to perform these tasks rather than tell them. We also recommend taking your teen with you on any car maintenance or repair visits. This will help him or her learn to identify any unusual noises or sensations coming from the vehicle and understand when it’s necessary to seek professional help.
Ready to show your teen the ropes?
We’re here to help you every step of the way. Next time you bring your car into one of our Virginia Tire & Auto locations, bring your teenager along and our automotive technicians can answer any car maintenance or repair questions he or she may have.