4 Tips for Teaching Your Teen to Drive

Teaching a teen how to drive safely is one of the most important things a parent can do. Once your child gets a license and a car, he or she will probably drive every day. The lessons you impart now will shape how your teen drives for the rest of his or her life, so you need to take it seriously.

Following these four tips will help ensure that your teen knows how to operate a motor vehicle safely.

Start With Easy Routes to Help Your Teen Gain Experience

An excited teenager may want to drive on the expressway immediately. Instead of jumping into advanced driving situations, start with some easy routes around your neighborhood.

Your teen needs to learn some basic skills before progressing to crowded roads. Driving in a familiar environment will help him or her acquire those skills. Once you see that your teen can handle easy routes responsibly, consider moving on to progressively more difficult roads. Otherwise, you’ll put yourself and others in danger.

Offer Positive Reinforcement

A lot of parents want to focus on what young drivers do wrong. While you obviously need to correct mistakes, you also need to offer positive reinforcement for when your young driver does well. Even something simple like adjusting mirrors or coming to a complete stop deserves some praise.

Positive reinforcement almost always works better than negative reinforcement. Instead of focusing on mistakes, reward your teen for driving well. You can go over the mistakes once you’re at home in a safe environment where emotions won’t get as heated.

Explain the Dangers of Distracted Driving

Distracted driving contributed to the deaths of 3,179 people in 2014. Over 430,000 people were injured by distracted drivers during the same year.

These statistics show that parents must teach young drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. Teach your teen to put his or her smartphone in the glove compartment before even turning on the car. If the phone is unreachable and out of sight, your child is less likely to use it while driving.

Keep in mind that there are other types of distracted driving. Eating, applying makeup, talking to passengers, and adjusting the stereo can also lead to serious accidents.

Model Good Behavior for Your Children

Don’t wait until your teen has a learner’s permit to teach him or her how to drive. You should model good driving behaviors throughout the child’s life, even when he or she is very young.

Young children are very impressionable. If you display bad driving habits, they may pick up on them and use them when they’re old enough to drive.

Setting a good example is often more effective than telling your teen what to do. Wear your seatbelt, don’t speed, and pay close attention to the road. The better you drive, the more likely it is that your teens will mimic your habits.

It’s impossible to avoid every accident on the road. Teaching your teen how to drive well, however, will significantly lower the chances that he or she has a serious crash.

Image via State Farm / Flickr

*Based on 2016 EPA mileage/highway estimates and driving range ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your MPGe/MPG and driving range will vary depending on driving conditions, how you drive and maintain your vehicle, battery age/condition, and other factors. For additional information about EPA ratings, visit http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/label/learn-more-PHEV-label.shtml

*MSRP excluding tax, license, registration, $835.00 destination charge and options. Dealer prices may vary.