Teaching Your Teen To Drive
Updated October 1, 2020 . AmFam Team
Teaching your teen how to drive comes with a range of emotions — excitement, worry and pride. But at the end of the day, it’s simple: every parent’s dream is for their teen to thrive in life, and their newfound freedom behind the wheel is a big part of that.
It might feel overwhelming at first, so we’ve gathered some tried-and-true tips for parents who are teaching their kids how to drive. These driving skills tips offer the perfect starting point to help you approach the hours of supervised driving ahead with confidence.
Before You Start Your Teen’s Driving Lesson
So, when do you know that your teen is ready to start driving? Typically, it’s a question each state answers in their own way. The best way to teach your teen to drive is to check in online with your state's department of motor vehicles (DMV).
Understand the graduated drivers licensing rules in your state
Each state has different rules that define when student drivers are eligible for an instruction learner’s permit. Check online with your state’s DMV (Opens in a new tab) to learn about age restrictions and licensing options for young drivers.
Review driver’s education class materials
If your teen is taking a driver’s education class in high school or through a private group, be sure to sync up your instruction with the educational materials used there. You’ll help your child study and reinforce the weekly lessons with real-world training, where the rubber meets the road.
Tips for Teaching Your Teen to Drive
Teaching your teen to drive is more than just getting them familiar with the car and its various functions. One of the key tips for parents teaching driving is to instill confidence in your child’s ability to navigate stressful situations correctly. Take a look at these tips on teaching a teenager to drive so they can build core skills and become a more capable driver:
Speak and act calmly
Remember, your teen is probably nervous about driving! Put yourself in their shoes and coach them through the driving process.
Instead of correcting driving mistakes, ask questions
“How fast should you be going right now?” or “Talk to me about how you handled that last stop sign.” This reduces the anxiety your teen may be having, while teaching them how to be aware of the road.
Try something like: “You’re going to turn right up here, and the people coming from the left don’t have a stop sign. What should you do?”
Put away the phones
Make sure they put their phone in the glove box. Same goes for you!
Encourage openness
Before you go on any driving lessons with your teen, set the expectation that they should ask if they’re unsure of what to do.
Boost their confidence
When your teen is learning how to drive, they need to hear what they're doing right too, so make sure you tell them when they've done a good job.
Teen Driving Skills Checklist
It’s key to be prepared for what’s ahead when you’re teaching your teen to drive. You’ll want to plan out where you’re going be driving and review the basic skills you’ll be teaching. Consider picking up a workbook on teaching your teen how to drive — they’re a great option that can lay out a detailed roadmap on what to teach and when.
As your teen begins to master basic skills, like accelerating and braking safely, you can begin to explore other driving skills for beginners. From gaining special awareness to multitasking — like using the turn signal, checking blind spots and parallel parking — there’s always more abilities to master.
Up next, we'll take a look at a driving skills checklist for teens so you’ll have an idea of how to help your teen gain confidence on the road.
Understanding the Vehicle
Be sure to have your owner’s manual out and open to the dashboard section so you can better explain how each item works when teaching your teen to drive.
Once your teen has their driving learner’s permit, it’s time to get them familiar with a driving checklist and everything they’ll need to know for safe driving. Take a look at these ideas to get your kid feeling comfortable behind the wheel with our new driver checklist:
- Adjust the steering wheel and driver’s seat
- Fine-tune the rear-view and side mirrors
- Explore the way the windshield wipers operate and review the intermittent wiper functions
- Teach your teen how to turn your car’s emergency blinkers and lights on and off
- Explore the meaning of on-dash warning lights and messages
- Pop open the glove box and review the contents — and be sure your teen knows where the registration and auto insurance card is stored
- Pull down the sun visor and discuss the importance of visibility during sunny conditions
- Review the climate controls and explore how to turn on and off the defrosting systems for the front and rear windshields
- Explore the features like seat or steering wheel warmers if equipped
- Dive into the functions that open the hood, gas cap lid and the rear hatchback or trunk
Once your child’s had time to get familiar with the position and function of each dashboard item, it’s time to put your introduction into action! Start up the engine and review each function with the car in park. Don’t let your teen start it up or move the vehicle until you’re sure they’re ready.
Mastering Driving Basics
To build your teen’s confidence and skills while driving, take them on familiar routes. Have them drive to school, the library or grocery store and focus on handling, braking and accelerating.
Mix it up and drive at night when you feel they’re ready and be sure to introduce them to the tenets of defensive driving (Opens in a new tab) early on. As you continue to teach your teen to drive, make sure to check in on these key driving skills for beginners:
- Start your teen’s driver education in an empty parking lot
- Driving practice should start with a review of the gas and brake pedals
- Review the turn signal system
- Spend time exploring the steering wheel controls
- Teach your child about how to use the radio and music system responsibly
- Be sure your kid is familiar with how to buckle other children into child safety seats
- Discuss how blind spot warning systems work if the car has them installed
- Review how the airbags operate and how to hold the steering wheel safely
- Get your teen familiar with the headlights and turning on the fog lights, if equipped
- Explore how anti-lock brakes engage and under what circumstances
- Review the four-second rule for highway driving
- Teach your teen how to parallel park
- Take sample online driving tests your child will have to sit for when applying for a driver’s license
Be sure to get your teen a copy of the rules of the road for your state (Opens in a new tab) which familiarizes your child with road signs, speed limits and other key details teen drivers need to know.
Is your teen already doing great with the basics? Take their driving to the next level with these teen driving tips they need to know.
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Sending a text, eating your burrito, applying makeup — what do all of these tasks have in common?
They’re all everyday examples of distracted driving.
As a driver, it’s your responsibility to focus on the road to keep you, your passengers, and other people on the road safe from accidents. We’ve put a spotlight on some risky driving behaviors that we hope can help influence you to keep your focus on the road.
What is Distracted Driving?
Distracted driving is when the driver is doing something that takes their attention away from the task of driving. Any time your eyes and/or mind are taken away from the road, you’re technically distracted, which means an increase in the risk of an accident.
Not all driving distractions are created equal. As you can imagine, some forms of distraction aren’t as dangerous as others. For example, hands-free telephone conversations — although not recommended — isn’t as deadly as other modes of conversation while driving.
The Deadliest Driving Distraction: Texting and Driving
It should come as no surprise to you that texting is the most common distraction while driving as well as the most dangerous. It’s so deadly in fact, that it gets its very own section.
It’s easy for us all to see the dangers of texting while driving, but even with that knowledge, so many of us fall into the temptation of sending off a fast text message while behind the wheel. But even a quick text can have horrible consequences.
Just think, when you look at your phone, your focus is on the screen, not the road; one hand is off the wheel to hold your device, and your mind drifts to the message instead of the task at hand: driving safely.
Why texting is distracting
To put it into perspective, if you’re traveling at 55 MPH and you take your eyes off the road and onto your phone, you’ve traveled about 100 yards – the length of a football field! That’s quite a distance to cover driving “blind.”
The National Safety Council reports that one out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by a distracted driver who was texting. They also reported that texting and driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than driving while intoxicated.
Let these driving facts be a wake-up call to the extreme dangers of texting while driving.
Is it Illegal to Use Your Phone While Driving?
The truth is that it depends on which state you live in. As of 2020, the Governors Highway Safety Association reports that there is a hand-held cell phone use ban in 22 states, with 48 states banning text messaging for all drivers. Find out the distracted driving laws for your state to ensure you’re following the rules of the road in your state.
It’s always important to know our state laws, and in your state there may very well be no law preventing you from texting while driving. However, for your safety as well as those in your car, and for anyone else sharing the roads with you, it’s best to stick with a firm “no phone use while driving” mentality.
Types of Distracted Driving
The first step to preventing distracted driving is understanding what it is. In a nutshell, anything that occupies your attention while driving is a distraction. Here are a few notable distractors that should be eliminated while behind the wheel.
Checking your GPS
When it comes to directions, we’ve come a long way from the world of fold-up maps. Today, everyone has a built-in navigation system in the palm of their hands: the smartphone. The only problem is that just one quick glance at your phone’s screen is all it takes for a costly mistake behind the wheel.
Your best bet is to leave your phone in your pocket or purse when driving. But if you must use your phone for directions, enable the voice feature so that you don’t have to look at the screen for every turn.
Sifting through your music device
Trying to find the right song for your road trip is just as dangerous as texting and driving. Your best bet is to pick a playlist prior to getting into your vehicle. Or listen to the radio. The key here is to keep your eyes on the road and not on your music device.
Checking social media
Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, you name it – all of them bide for our constant attention. Don’t fall prey to this when you’re driving. That post, tweet, or message can wait. Avoid checking social media when behind the wheel.
Eating behind the wheel
You may be a pro at eating your burrito on the go, but ingesting your lunch while driving is a big no-no. All it takes is one wayward waffle fry to take your attention from the road to your lap. And it’s not just the mess that distracts; it’s the smell, taste, you name it – that makes eating one of the most distracting things you can do while driving.
Other types of distracted driving
There are a few more forms of distracted driving that could cause an accident. If you’re in the driver’s seat, try to avoid these altogether:
- Taking selfies
- Talking on the phone
- Drinking coffee or another beverage
- Putting on makeup
- Using an app
- Loud music
Top 5 Ways to Prevent Distracted Driving
There are easy ways to prevent distracted driving. Try using making these five simple changes distracted driving safety tips to have a safer driving experience.
Use a text-blocking app
There are many apps available that block texts while driving. Several apps exist with different features, ranging from ones that completely block any incoming or outgoing texts while going a certain speed, to apps that will send a message saying you’re unavailable to respond to an incoming text. Here’s a list from DMV.org with great suggestions for apps to fight distracted driving.
Have a passenger navigate for you
If you’re driving with a passenger (of an appropriate age), hand the directions to them. Even a not-so-great navigator in the passenger seat is better than the person behind the wheel being responsible for both driving and navigating. If you’re driving by yourself, take the time to look at the directions before you set off. Then turn the volume up and let the AI lead the way.
Make music selection easy
Make multiple playlists that you can choose from before starting the car. If you really need to change it up, either pull over or wait for a red light. Set your presets to stations you already know you like. Hitting one button is better than cranking the dial until you find music you like.
Don’t text while driving
If you’re behind the wheel, just put the phone away. Social media can wait. It’s not going anywhere — that we can promise. Are the notifications too tempting? Turn them off! No comment or new tweet is worth the risk.
Eat at home or while stopped
If you’re in a rush and want to keep things moving, consider the hazards of driving while eating behind the wheel. Hopefully you can recognize that the risks outweigh the temptation, and you can wait until you get to your destination to eat.
How Does Distracted Driving Affect Insurance?
For starters, getting into an at-fault accident will almost always make your insurance premium go up, simply because your insurance company now deems you a higher-risk driver. Distracted driving is no exception. Even if you avoid an accident but you get a ticket for distracted driving, you’re susceptible to those increases in insurance.
Why does distracted driving increase insurance? For starters, you may be getting a discount for having a clean driving record. But if you get a ticket, such as for texting while driving, you may no longer be eligible for that discount, and you’ll notice an increase in your premium. Another reason your insurance might go up goes back to being a higher risk. If you’re guilty of distracted driving, an insurance company will consider you a high-risk driver (meaning you’re more likely to file a claim due to an accident) and they’ll set your premiums higher.
Many of the discounts that insurance companies give out revolve around rewarding drivers for having no claims and a good driving record in general. Don’t let distracted driving take away those perks!
Protect Yourself From Distracted Drivers on the Road
Avoiding distracting driving behaviors is a great way to be safe on the road, and car insurance is a great way to stay protected from the unexpected. With American Family you can customize your car coverage to meet your unique needs. Talk to your agent today to find the right coverage for you.
The Insurance Information Institute claims driving while interacting with a mobile device can increase the odds of a crash by as much as 3.5 times, compared to the risks that a sober, alert and attentive driver faces. Teens are more susceptible to collisions, even when speaking hands-free on a mobile phone. Let’s explore the many ways you can help prevent distracted driving accidents.
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