From potty training to sticking to a monthly budget, child raising is full of unpleasant duties. These milestones, however, are all little stops on the way to creating an independent and capable young adult. Teaching them to drive safely is one of those milestones. You can focus all your effort on teaching them the rules of the road, and still, they may speed, text and drive, or act aggressively.
Behind the wheel, it’s easy to become another person. Calm people can develop road rage, and focused people may check their phones constantly. The best way to curb these dangerous habits and avoid a car accident is to cultivate good defensive driving habits.
Using Empty or Near Empty Driving Areas
In rural areas, it’s pretty easy to find an open stretch of road. In cities, not so much. However, finding a large open or even “closed” parking lot can be a great place to start. Finding a deserted area can allow you to help them test their awareness and get used to controlling their speed.
When driving through a deserted road or empty parking lot, use poles, signs, or other road markings to give the child a place to stop. Saying something similar to, “I want you to speed up, then safely stop as the Home Depot sign” is a good way to start learning basic principles.
Additionally, in empty areas, you can bring cones. Using cones during driver training can help them guide through unexpected paths such as a construction area or lane change.
Plan for Distractions and Road Changes
All too often, people learn to drive with zero distractions. When you have a driver’s ed teacher in the vehicle, and often with a parent, there is no radio or cell phone. Now, you certainly shouldn’t have your teen texting behind the wheel. But turn the radio on, keep the volume low and talk to them. Yes, they need to concentrate, but they need to learn what it’s like to try and concentrate on multiple distractions. It’s not easy.
One of the reasons why so many teens get into an accident shortly after getting their license is because they can’t handle distractions. When they turn on the radio for the first time and a good song comes on, or the notification bell from their phone pings, it demands their attention.
Teach them to set their phone to drive mode, and to manage the in-vehicle distractions that will be a part of driving. To help them learn to manage changing road conditions, take them out in the rain. A new driver may not be ready for the snow yet, but they can certainly learn to drive safely in the rain. Or immediately after the rain when the air is exceptionally bright and blinding.
Highway and Freeway Driving
When your teen has the surface streets down, you can take them onto the freeway or highway. They need to learn how to safely increase speed to match the flow of traffic and how to merge. But, this is an excellent opportunity for defensive driving lessons. On the freeway or highway, you’re traveling at high speeds, but that shouldn’t mean less of an opportunity to stop. It just demands that they look further ahead and plan for the worst.
It is best to start during the hours of slower traffic on the freeway. Give your teen the opportunity to hit those high speeds and then respond to changing traffic conditions in as controlled an environment as possible. Not only will this help them prepare, but also to build confidence in their driving and defensive driving abilities.
The Ultimate Test – Drive the Strip
In Henderson, one of the scariest places to drive on the West Coast is the Las Vegas strip. It’s so dangerous but in a very different way. On a good day, you can coast through just below the speed limit with minimal obstacles. But, any day that the strip is open following COVID-19, you’ll surely have pedestrians, aggressive Uber drivers, and people who just don’t know where they’re going.
In A Henderson, NV Crash? Reach Out to Your Henderson Car Accident Lawyers
If you or your teen were in a wreck, it’s a good learning opportunity. You can count this accident among the many lessons learned between you both. However, you still need guidance, and many people can’t properly handle their insurance claims. Instead of trying to manage it alone, get a professional on board.
For people hurt, or in the event of extreme property damage, don’t accept anything less than a fair settlement. Christian Morris Trial Attorneys is the local Henderson car accident resolution law office. This team of car accident lawyers aids locals in closing out cases with as fair a resolution as possible. Meet with a Christian Morris Trial Attorneys personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
