More
Tips to Help Your Driving Teen
Teaching
your teen to drive safely can be a complicated,
drawn out process if you aren't prepared.
Here, MetLife offers additional tips for
parents looking to help their teens form
good, safe driving habits during their
early years.
Map
Your Route
Resist
the temptation to just go out and drive
around. The 'sink or swim' motto may be
fine for other activites, but to make
sure your teen's driving sessions go smoothly,
it’s best to be prepared. By adding
a bit of structure to your lessons, any
new driver can pick up the basics.
Make
sure you carefully consider your driving
route prior to hitting the road with your
new driver. It will help you get off to
a better start and ensure your teen is
on heavily-trafficked roadways only after
you are both ready.
When
choosing where to practice, try to take
a few moments and think about a potential
route, driving it first to better prepare
for any potential difficulties. Talk with
your teen about the practice session before
you go, agreeing on what will be covered
and how much time you’ll spend on
the lesson. In some cases, you might want
to drive to the practice session yourself,
and then let your teenager take over after
you reach your destination.
Following
in Traffic
Emphasize that a safe following distance
betwen you and the vehicle in front of
you is a key to preventing most collisions,
and can be even more important than quick
reactions and good brakes.
Doing
it Well
Your teen may find that a two-second distance
rule will help them maintain a safe following
distance. This means, they should keep
at least a two-second interval between
their vehicle and the vehicle ahead while
driving under optimal conditions. However,
when driving in adverse weather, road
conditions or at night, the following
distance should be at least doubled.
Remind
your teen that the closer they follow
to the traffic ahead of them, the harder
it becomes to see what may lay ahead on
the roadways.
Always
encourage your driver to look several
vehicles ahead of their own. It's good
to remind your teen that if any vehicles
ahead slow down or suddenly stop, it’s
likely that all the vehicles behind will
have to do the same. By maintaining a
good following distance your teen will
have more time to react to the actions
of other drivers.
Unfortunately,
many unsafe drivers also tailgate. If
you new driver sees someone tailgating
their vehicle, it is important they keep
an eye out for that driver to avoid possibily
being hit in the rear. You can suggest
to your young driver that 'pumping' your
brakes by touching them on and off quickly
to flash the brake lights, and using turn
signals in advance, indicate your intention
to slow down, stop or turn.
Your
Role
Count out the two-second distance for
your teen. As they become more experienced
with the two-second distance ask, “How
many seconds are you from the vehicle
ahead?” After a while, your new driver
may be able to follow at a safe distance
without having to count it out every time.
Common
Problems and Solutions
New drivers sometimes count the seconds
too fast and do not anticipate changes
in the roadway as quickly as they should.
They may concentrate on following so much
that they lose sight of pedestrians and
other vehicles. They also may tend to
follow certain vehicles too closely.
With
continued practice, your teenager may
realize the need to follow larger vehicles
at a greater than two-second distance
because of the inability to see around
them.
Key
Lessons
When being followed, communicate with
the drivers of the vehicles behind you.
Places
to Practice
Choose the right time of day and an open
road with a moderate volume of traffic.
Controlling
Speed
Most
traffic violations are for speeding, and
speeding contributes to most traffic accidents.
That’s why it’s very important
to try and help a new driver develop the
skills to make good decisions about vehicle
speed.
Doing
it Well
Maximum speed limits are set on the basis
of ideal driving conditions — good
weather, good roads and good traffic conditions.
However, it’s difficult to find all
these conditions at once.
That’s
why a new driver needs to be reminded
to constantly adjust their speed as driving
conditions change. Adjusting speed to
traffic and road conditions can be a bit
awkward at first for an unskilled driver.
You can help by emphasizing that your
new driver should keep pace with the other
traffic by maintaining the same speed
as the flow of traffic — as long
as speed limits are observed.
Try
to avoid large groups or 'packs' of traffic.
Show your teen driver how to do this by
adjusting vehicle speed. Have them slow
up a little and let the pack go by before
resuming speed.
Get
your new driver to adjust speed as necessary
in new places such as unfamiliar intersections,
school crossings or other areas where
pedestrians are present. Keep in mind
that driving 20 mph in some situations
may be too fast despite the fact the speed
limit is 25 mph.
Your
Role
You can ask your new driver to maintain
a constant speed. For example, you can
say, “Let’s see if you can maintain
35 mph for the next half mile.” Your
teen may find the speedometer will drop
below or go above 35 mph. This should
improve with practice. Have them practice
when driving under various road conditions
such as hills, curves and dirt roads.
Common
Problems and Solutions
Often times new drivers tend to drive
too fast through intersections. Try to
make your teen realize how dangerous intersections
can be — even if they have the right-of-way.
At the early driving stage, you need to
make sure your teen is aware of how to
approach an intersection. New drivers
tend to drive too fast on curves as well.
Remind your new driver that a curve is
just a small part of a regular turn. It
can be hard to understand the need to
slow down when entering a curve and accelerate
while leaving the curve. However, with
lots of practice and reminders, this will
become easier.
Practice
will help your teen anticipate speed changes
under different conditions including hills
and slick roadways. With a little practice,
your new driver will be able to adjust
the vehicle’s speed to the road conditions.
Make
sure your teen driver does not make these
common driving mistakes:
- driving
too fast for road and weather conditions.
- slowing
down too much when exiting a high-speed
roadway.
- losing
speed when changing lanes.
- letting
the grade of a hill change their speed
— slowing down when going uphill
or speeding up when going downhill.
Key
Lessons
Set goals for constant speed, and adjust
speed for road and weather conditions.
Places
to Practice
It’s best speed control in easy-to-handle
places first. In early practice sessions
try to get your teen driver to maintain
constant speed on streets in residential
areas or on two-lane roads with little
traffic and few side streets. As they
become more experienced, you can begin
to venture into areas where traffic is
heavier and where there is a need to adjust
speed more often.
You
can begin to practice increasing speed
and merging onto another roadway by merging
at a lightly-traveled intersection with
a yield sign. Once your teen has mastered
that, try it on a higher-speed road with
a longer acceleration area. Finally, work
on speed control while passing or being
passed, as well as on hills and curves.
Doing
it Well
Try to help your teenager see that the
proper use of space involves positioning
the vehicle properly on all sides. Your
new driver should soon see that it’s
necessary to position the vehicle as far
away as possible from hazards or potential
conflicts without disrupting the traffic
flow. Make sure they understand that jumping
across the center line just to get past
a parked vehicle can create a dangerous
situation. In some instances, the vehicle
must be placed between two hazards if
the available space is very narrow. After
practice, your teen should begin to realize
the need to adjust speed constantly to
maintain a proper space cushion on the
side of the vehicle.
Parent's
Role
New drivers can be confused when trying
to abide by all the different space requirements.
For example, you may find yourself saying,
“keep right to avoid oncoming vehicles”
and then,“ keep left to avoid parked
vehicles.”
So,
what happens if your new driver faces
oncoming traffic and parked vehicles at
the same time? If the risk is about equal,
it may be best to steer a middle course
between the oncoming and parked vehicles.
This may not leave as much of a space
cushion as desired, but still enough space
to react to sudden movements from either
side.
When
space is not adequate between hazards,
advise your new driver to handle one hazard
at a time. Use space to be able to maneuver,
change directions and avoid tight places.
For example, on a narrow bridge, rather
than meeting an oncoming vehicle, it’s
best for your teen to slow a bit to let
the other vehicle go over the bridge first.
Common
Problems
Drifting
New drivers have a tendency to drift toward
oncoming vehicles, especially on higher-speed,
multi-lane roads. Often times they concentrate
so hard on the oncoming vehicle that they
fail to check their own vehicle’s
intended path.
Blind
Spots
Make sure your teen understands that driving
in the “blind spot” of other
vehicles could be very dangerous. You
can safely make your teen aware of blind
spots while your vehicle is parked. With
your teenager in the driver’s seat,
walk around the vehicle and ask them to
tell you when you are not visible in the
rearview and side mirrors. As you’re
driving, you could point out vehicles
that might be in a blind spot.
Parked
Vehicles
Even parked vehicles can present a problem.
Inexperienced drivers tend to believe
that parked vehicles will always stay
parked, so they tend not leave enough
space for them. Encourage your teen to
move away from anything parked and check
for indications that these vehicles might
be pulling out. Remind your new driver
that parked vehicles also hide pedestrians,
who often times do not check before crossing
the road. Especially dangerous are children
who may run out into the road or adults
who are not paying attention.
Key
Lessons
Maintain space on all sides of the vehicle.
Handle one hazard at a time. Be aware
of blind spots.
Places
to Practice
Try to practice use of space with parked
vehicles on quiet side streets, or in
neighborhoods without children playing
near the road. You can then progress to
more heavily-traveled streets with pedestrians,
bicycles and oncoming vehicles.
As
you and your teen move on to multi-lane
streets, you can continue to work on keeping
a space cushion with vehicles beside you
— both moving and parked — and
your teen will have a safe foundation
and practical experience.
Deciding
When to Go: Merging, Yielding and Passing
Timing
is everything when deciding whether to
enter, exit, join or cross traffic. Most
of these decisions occur at intersections,
and new drivers have to learn to judge
the timing in order to make safe decisions.
Doing
it Well
Some drivers, especially new ones, have
difficulty judging the time and distance
required to make maneuvers in traffic.
Additionally, when turning onto a street
or going straight across an intersection,
it’s important to make sure your
teen allows enough room to complete their
maneuver. Remind them to accelerate to
the proper speed and watch out for pedestrians
or stopped vehicles.
Merging
and changing lanes requires that your
new driver keep a good amount of space
between their car and the vehicles around
them. Remind them it's best to yield to
ongoing traffic.
Your
Role
Try to lead your teenager one step at
a time through the correct selection of
gaps. You can try having them select gaps
for you as you drive, telling you whether
the gap is safe or not. You might even
give your teen a watch to time the gaps.
When
your teen is driving, have them tell you
what gap should be selected before they
actually move into that gap. Then you
say 'yes' or 'no' before the move is made.
Once you’ve practiced this, your
driver should be able to select and move
into gaps through all kinds of traffic.
Evaluate decisions on the spot, making
suggestions as needed. Convince your new
driver to avoid taking unnecessary risks.
It's important they allow extra room when
practicing any maneuver for the first
time. Remind your driver to be patient,
waiting for the best time to go.
Sometimes,
a change in direction is needed. For example,
if your teen is having trouble turning
left across a very busy street, they might
need to turn right and make a U-turn where
it’s safe to do so.
Critical
judgment is required for passing, so carefully
choose the times when you pracitce this
skill. Make sure your new driver can master
passing other vehicles on a multi-lane
road before attempting to pass on a two-lane
road — which, depending upon traffic
patterns in your area, you may choose
not to encourage at all. If possible,
have someone else in your family drive
another vehicle so your teen can practice
passing and being passed.
Common
Problems
Uncontrolled intersections, or intersections
controlled only by yield or stop signs,
are the most difficult for new drivers.
Making a right turn on a red light is
another challenge, one that you may simply
advise against unless there is no traffic
with which to merge. When your inexperienced
driver selects a good gap in traffic,
make sure they accelerate to a desired
speed as soon and as safely as possible.
New
drivers have a tendency to slow down when
changing lanes, which is exactly the opposite
of what they should do. Remind your new
driver not to slow down with most lane-changing
maneuvers. If your teenager is moving
too slowly, an acceptable gap may soon
become unacceptable. Watch to make sure
your teen is not concentrating so much
on making the correct gap selection that
they forget to watch out for other vehicles,
pedestrians or bicyclists.
Key
Lessons
Gap selection is always difficult, but
it is a skill that needs to be practiced.
It's best to practice on multi-lane roads,
reminding your teen to maintain the vehicle's
speed while they move into the desired
gap.
Places
to Practice
Practice passing on roads with little
traffic before attempting to practice
selecting gaps in heavier traffic. You
can have your teen select gaps for you
when you’re driving so they can observe
you driving. Talk to them about what was
correct and what was incorrect about their
selections. Gap selection is a skill that
must be practiced hundreds of times. Do
as much of this practice as possible on
side streets before moving into heavier
and/or faster traffic.
Communicating
on the Road
Drivers
can’t rely on words to communicate
on the road. New drivers need to learn
a new type of communication that relies
on signs, signals and anticipating situations
based on what they see on the road. Your
teen needs to learn how to make sure other
drivers see them, and work to let those
drivers know what they plan to do.
Doing
it Well
Practice communicating when changing direction
and speed. Make sure your new driver learns
to signal before changing lanes, turning
corners and entering and exiting highways.
Show them how to use brake lights and
hand signals to communicate to others
drivers that they are going to slow, stop
or park.
Your
Role
As the two of you drive along, try to
make an effort to point out when other
drivers fail to communicate. Teach your
teen that a good rule of thumb for making
a turn is to signal with your brakes first.
This will ensure other drivers are aware
the vehicle will be slowing down. Remind
your new driver to also pay attention
to the traffic behind their vehicle. To
avoid being hit from the rear, suggest
that your teen check the mirrors and pump
the brakes before slowing or stopping.
Common
Problems and Solutions
New drivers can become overly concerned
with putting on the signal indicator.
Sometimes, they fail to let the vehicle
straighten out from a curve or a previous
turn before they begin signaling for the
next turn. Make sure your teenager waits
until the vehicle is straight before attempting
to signal again. Beware of new drivers
risking loss of steering control while
using the signal lever.
Have
your teen practice using their signals
without taking their eyes off the road
or their hands off the steering wheel.
This can also hold true for operating
other instruments in the vehicle while
driving. You may need to remind your new
driver to wait to tune the radio or use
other instruments while in an intersection.
Key
Lessons
Make sure other drivers can see your vehicle,
and let other drivers know what you plan
to do.
Places
to Practice
Communicating can be practiced on any
type of road. Remind your new driver to
signal for every turn, even in a quiet
neighborhood. Signaling will then become
automatic, which is helpful especially
in heavy traffic. With good signaling
skills, your teen can spend more time
focused on other important driving decisions.
Click
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Your Driving Teen
Source — MetLife
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