I was reminiscing the other day about the time I was learning to drive. How I got behind the wheel of my dad’s shining old V8 gas guzzler – I could barely see over the steering wheel! The mirror was all wrong so it had to be adjusted, the seats were way to far from the steering wheel, so my feet couldn’t reach the pedals. And when I turned the key I heard a sound that at that moment sounded to me like the beginning of Armageddon. Yet, deep down there was a rising feeling of excitement, a knowledge of things to come, roads to conquer.
The tips below are for you, the parent, so you can help your teenage son or daughter during the learning process, and make it something he/she will always remember with a smile.
It’s all-important that you don’t try to teach him everything there is to know in one lesson. Take things slowly, one at a time. First make sure he knows the rules of the road – all the theoretical knowledge he heeds to have to be a good drive. Then starts teaching him about the controls of the car – what they do, and where they are. The indicators, the windscreen wipers, the emergency brake and the light switch. These things can save his life in an emergency one day, when there is just no time to think where on earth did they put the switch for the windscreen wipers.
Secondly, remember that practice makes perfect. Even if your student can’t wait to get going, let him practice all the basic skills over and over. Once again, in an emergency situation they have to react instinctively. There is no time to think what your next step should be. Let them practice in an empty parking lot after hours.
Starting off with parking skills is not a bad idea. This will give the student a feeling for how the car reacts to turning the wheel, braking etc. Reverse parking is never easy for a learner driver, so let him practice this many times over, even if he gets bored.
Something else that does not come naturally to a new drive is to slow down BEFORE you get to a curve, and how far from a stop sign you have to start slowing down and apply the brakes. Discuss this with him before you even leave the parking area and venture into traffic. One of the most terrifying experiences for a learner drive is to stop at a stop street, and then pull away while there is a car coming in the distance. It is therefore better to practice this after hours, in a quiet part of town.
Another thing that is very scary is knowing how to deal with people walking across the road, bicycles moving right in front of you, and other cars changing lanes without warning. This can be life threatening if your child should panic and do something stupid, so discuss this with him before actually venturing into the traffic, and start off where you will encounter this, but not on a bewildering scale.
The final step, and something many instructors fail to do, is to prepare someone who is learning to drive for conditions that does not happen every day, but when they do can cause him to make fatal mistakes. Driving in bad light or at night, or when it’s raining or snowing, or where there are road works needs special skills and the ability to keep a clear head and make instant decisions. It’s a good idea to get a training video and watch this with your student. Discuss the reaction of the driver in the video to different circumstances, and whether that was the best way to respond and why.
topgear offer driving lessons anniesland and there is more iformation about driving instructors in anniesland at www.topgeardrivingtuition.com
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Tags: Cars, Turning The Wheel, Teenage Son, Excitement
