Terri Ramsey Beavers Seeing your child drive for the first time can be stressful for a parent. It becomes worst if they get in an accident. While it’s not always necessarily their fault, in many cases, teens are the ones who are responsible when they get involved in car accidents. Being a safe driver is part temperament and part skill, and you have to teach your children both if you want them to be more responsible drivers. Let’s take a look at how you can do this.
Choose the Right Driving School
If you want your children to be safe drivers, then you have to pick the right instructors. You want to make sure that they emphasize safety and have the tools for it. Schools like alliancedefensivedrivingschool.com, for instance, make sure that each and every one of their instructors are trained by a police officer, and their vehicles have more monitoring equipment to properly assess a student’s performance. Going with a school that preaches safety will help your child grow into a safe driver.
Practice with Them
In addition to classes, you can also practice with them so they learn how to drive in different scenarios. Practice makes perfect, so use that time when they have their learner’s permit wisely. At this time, they will be eager to drive, so let them drive whenever you get the chance. You can start by driving in normal conditions. Then you can switch to night drive or when there’s rain or snow. Ask your child’s instructor which areas they’ve mastered and what still needs work.
Get them a Safe Car
You also have to make sure that you buy the right vehicle for a teen in the first place. You can’t expect them to be responsible with a turbocharged V6 under the hood. You can’t take cars at face value either. You have tons of small vehicles that can pack quite a punch. As a rule, never go over 4 cylinders for the motor and check out the IHSS for their top safety picks.
Also, we suggest that you don’t go for a small car for their first purchase. This is because larger cars offer more protection from crashes. So, go for a mid or full-sized car instead.
Be a Good Example
If your children constantly see you chatting, fixing yourself up, or yelling at other people when behind the wheel, don’t expect them to be saints when they drive. You have to make sure that you set the right example. So, watch how you drive. Do you have a tendency to weave in and out in traffic? Do you often drink or eat while driving? Do you always use your signals? These are all things that might seem like details to you as an experienced driver, but they are very bad habits for a novice to pick up. Try to play by the rules as much as possible when they’re watching so they don’t end up emulating you.
These are all tricks that you can use to make your child a safer driver. It starts with practice and following through with the right principles.