Ensure your teenager is ready to get behind the wheel

While your teenager may be excited to get behind the wheel, there’s no denying that this is a scary thought for parents. After all, even if your teenager is particularly responsible, the roads can be a dangerous place, especially for inexperienced drivers.

Fortunately, there are many different steps that you can take to ensure your teen is ready to hit the open road, giving you much greater peace of mind once they’ve earned their lisence.

Find a trusted driving instructor

Driving instructors play a key role in helping motorists prepare to get behind the wheel. After all, in addition to teaching them everything they need to know about driving, they can also fill them with a sense of confidence that makes them better drivers in the long run. As a result, finding a reputable and experienced driving instructor can give you both greater peace of mind moving forward. Ideally, you should look out for an instructor with experience on the local roads!

Encourage them to take their time

When learning to drive, it’s natural to want to progress as quickly as possible. After all, you then have a world of freedom at your fingertips! However, you should encourage your teen to take their time when learning, as opposed to booking their test as quickly as possible. This ensures that they develop the skills they need to thrive on the road.

Model good driving behaviours

According to a recent study, 92% of driving instructors believe that students pick up bad driving habits from their parents. As a result, you can ensure your teen stays safe on the road by working to be a good driver yourself!

Discuss the dangers with them

As mentioned above, learning to drive is incredibly exciting, which means that many first-time motorists view the idea of being able to drive independently through rose-tinted glasses. As such, it’s important that you stress with them just how careful they need to be on the road and the dangers that arise through unsafe driving. While this may seem fairly obvious, reiterating this information is often key when it comes to getting teens and new drivers to take the situation seriously.

Trust them

If your teenager has passed their driving test and theory exam, it’s for a good reason. They’ve proven to examiners that they have acquired the necessary skills and knowledge to stay safe on the roads without putting themselves or others at risk. This is a level of trust that you, too, should extend to your child. If they were not ready, they would be told to resit their exam or take more lessons. As such, this means that by the time they have their licence in hand, they’re as prepared as they are ever going to be!

Offer to accompany them on their first few journeys

Driving without an instructor in the car for the first time can be daunting, even if they pass their test with flying colours. As such, you could provide your teen with a bit of comfort and support while also putting your own mind at ease by accompanying them on their first few journeys.

** This is a collaborative post