Whether your teen is homeschooled or their high school doesn’t have an adequate program, teaching driver’s education may fall on your shoulders. To prepare them, you’ll need to follow the necessary state guidelines and regulations in addition to giving your kid ample time behind the wheel.
Additionally, remembering to stay calm and patient during their learning period will keep stress levels down.
Guidelines and Regulations Refresher
Knowing state speed limits, traffic signals, signage, and regulations are key pieces of information to identify when teaching your child to drive. If you’re going to be their primary instructor, you want to familiarize yourself with all of your state guidelines.
Often states may require parents who are teaching driver’s education to take a refresher course on the basics or fill out certain forms to ensure they are instructing their children in proper road safety. You’ll find several classroom courses offered that can help give the parents the right tools for their teens to learn.
Highway Safety 101: Commercial Truck Safety
Commercial truck safety can be lacking in formal driver’s education programs all across the country, and many people don’t understand how critical this information can be to save lives.
To prepare your teen for highway driving, you need to instruct them on truck safety. Commercial big rigs can often drive aggressively, and your young driver needs to realize the importance of avoiding a potential collision.
By checking all vehicle mirrors before changing lanes as well as giving commercial trucks room to handle the road, they can bypass accidental cutoffs and accidents.
Common Hazards for Teens to Avoid Around Trucks
Your teenager will need to understand that they should be vigilant when driving around trucks, and they may not be aware of the common hazards associated with driving around big rigs. They should be mindful of and avoid these common mistakes:
- Stay out of the trucker’s No-Zone. That’s the spots behind and beside a big truck where the driver has very limited or zero visibility.
- Don’t suddenly change lanes in front of a big rig with your vehicle.
- When a commercial truck is making right turns, don’t maneuver to the right of them.
- Don’t make a big rig have to brake suddenly or have to make dangerous maneuvers by merging incorrectly into traffic.
- Make sure you don’t speed up or slow down when a truck merges or changes lanes.
- Make sure you give yourself enough headway when passing–don’t pass unsafely.
- There are air turbulence and crosswinds that can hit you and knock you out of position when passing big trucks–use caution when passing.
- Make sure you accelerate enough when you pull out in the road when there is an approaching truck-don’t misjudge their speed if you’re making a left turn in front of them from an intersection.
- Don’t pull between two commercial trucks.
Quiz your teen on these rules and observe them when they first start driving on roadways around large vehicles. Many fatal vehicle crashes are caused by passenger vehicles, so they must understand driver safety around large commercial vehicles.
Practice Makes Perfect
While it is necessary to teach minors about state regulations from a book or manual, the practice behind the wheel is just as beneficial. You can start in a vacant parking lot so that they can get a feel for the car.
Parents should put themselves in their teen’s shoes and remember what it was like to drive for the very first time. Having compassion, patience, and a lot of time will give your new driver time to relax while adjusting to this new skill.
As your teen gets a grasp on the basics, they can slowly move to low traffic side streets. Practicing in all types of weather-related conditions is just as crucial to their safety, so you need to ensure that they can handle anything that Mother Nature throws their way.
Driver’s Education and The Learner’s Permit
Your child will need to obtain their learner’s permit before legally driving on main roads with an adult in the car.
Your city’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has driver manuals with information in regards to the state’s road and traffic safety laws, which your teen will need to study and fully understand, to be exam ready. The DMV will also have the required paperwork to fill out. Good luck, and stay safe!
Whether remembering state regulations or gaining confidence behind the wheel, a parent’s instruction is invaluable when teaching a teen how to drive. I am sure many will find your article helpful! Thanks for sharing!
They got to learn somehow and often times the parent is the first choice for a driving teacher. Just don’t act too freaked out lol!
We taught our 4 daughters how to drive and a couple of our grandkids. One thing we did make sure was that we never got in the car with the kids when we were upset. Teaching takes patience and calmness! We would give them oral quizzes before and after their driving lessons. The one afterwards would be about what they did wrong and what they should have done. They know not to play “chicken” with a truck or any vehicle! Plus our children were in car accidents and/or seen them first hand! Our one daughter found out she was pregnant with her first child after a car accident and that God soared that beautiful child! So they know a car is not a toy. It is a three ton weapon that could leave you maimed or dead! Absolutely NO texting or drinking behind the wheel!! All these tips of yours were worth sharing and pinning! Thank you for sharing!!
That’s a great tip – to never teach driving when upset! I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s accident. Teens need to take driving very seriously.
Practicing in all weather conditions is great advice, and something most people might not think off. The list for safety around big trucks is also excellent, a common issue requiring good choices. A quick quiz before they head out is a wonderful idea, too. The review will help them refocus on driving, possible hazards of their trip, and off other distractions.
Driving in different weather conditions is a big one I think. Most people only teach driving when it’s nice outside.
I wish I would have read this four years ago. Teaching my kids to drive was torture, lol.
Sounds like you are now well experienced in teaching teenagers to drive now. What helped you?
We are teaching our teen to drive right. I am not so sure my nerves are going to make it. Thanks for the tips!
Teaching teens to drive is nerve-racking but its the only way they will learn
My friend taught his daughter to drive this year. She was able to drive during partial lockdown when there were very few cars on the highway. She got her license in August.
Congrats to her! You are so right – there were barely any cars on the road during lockdown which would have made the perfect learning to drive time. It was so nice not having traffic 🙂
wish i would have read this before I tried to teach my oldest
Did she do well with you teaching her to drive?
I remember teaching my daughter to drive. Eight years later & she still terrifies me!
Haha, I will probably feel the same with my son.
These are great tips, thanks for sharing! It is so important to not only learn the rules of the road, but be taught common sense driving techniques as well. My dad taught me and one thing I always remember is to always pay attention to the other drivers and what they are doing. It may seem simple, but it can save your life.
That’s a very helpful tip! You can’t control other drivers so it’s good to stay vigilant
Practice Makes Perfect that is kinda what my nephew said years ago to me. He had his permit but needed more practice time. He was a good driver. He told me he was going to get a big truck after he got his license. I laughed at him and asked where he was going to get his money for that big truck. I have never taught anybody to drive
Practice really does make a difference in so many things. You can never practice too much when it comes to driver’s education, IMO.
thanks for the wonderful tips
Have you ever taught a teen to drive?
I’ll have a teenage driver pretty soon!
It’s a scary thought having a teen driver, isn’t it?
we’re on the practice part right now
Scary, right? We are currently going through driver’s ed with our son at home too.