Many parents feel a mixed set of emotions when they see their teenage child sitting behind the wheel of a car, experiencing a sense of pride that they are becoming an adult by learning to drive, but at the same time, feeling more than a little anxious for their safety.
As an injury lawyer such as Herrman & Herrman will confirm, teen drivers are one of the most vulnerable groups of drivers on the road and their inexperience can often be sorely tested.
In order to try and ensure they are as a safe and confident with their driving as possible, it make sense to find a good driving school for your teen. Here is a look at some of the ways to find the right school for them.
Consider their needs
You know your child better than anyone as their parent, which means that you are well placed to understand what their strengths and weaknesses are as well as whether they are likely to be exuding confidence or extremely nervous, the moment they get behind the wheel.
If you have a teen who is a bit apprehensive about the prospect of learning to drive, it would make sense to try and find an instructor who you know is good with nervous drivers and has the patience to let them gather their confidence over a period of time.
The most obvious way of ensuring that you find an instructor that would be able to cope well with a nervous driver, would be to ask around between friends and family so that you can get the name of an instructor who has successfully guided an equally nervous teen driver towards getting their license.
You could also check out online reviews, and when you find a potential driving school, ask for some references and check them out to see if they are in line with what is being said and written about the driving school.
Working in partnership
Although the driving school will be providing the professional instruction, it should be remembered that parents end up providing a fair percentage of the supervised driving training for your teen.
Ideally, what you want is a driving school or an instructor who understands that this journey towards getting their driver’s license involves a collaborative approach. This means understanding the role that parents play in the process and sometimes providing some extra resources for parents, so that you can all coordinate on getting everything done the right way.
You might want to also check to see if the driving school offers access to advanced training options.
As well as clarifying that the standard course covers all aspects of driving, such as coping in an emergency situation, coping with different driving conditions and the basics of car maintenance, it would help if there are advanced training options, which might include simulators and brake reaction software.
Handing over the car keys for good, might take time, but if you find the right driving school, hopefully you will have ensured that your teen is more confident and safer when they hit the road.
Phoebe Ryan is a Mom of four teenage kids ranging in age from 13 to 19. In recent years getting the eldest kids driving has taken a lot of her attention. She writes about parenting in her articles which appear at a variety of blogs.
