As your child gets closer and closer to legal driving age, you may want to start thinking about the best ways to teach your child the rules of the road. Depending on where you live and how interested in your child is in driving, the tactics you use to teach will likely vary. However, all parents have the ultimate goal of ensuring that their child will be safe on the road and be a good driver. So to help your child reach this state, here are three things you should teach your teen about how to be a safe driver.
Everyone Needs A Seatbelt
While you might not want to think about the possibility of your teen being in a car accident, the facts of life are that anyone could get into a car accident on any day and for almost any reason. Knowing this, it’s crucial that you instill in your teen the habits he or she needs to be safe when a dangerous situation arises. This means that putting on a seatbelt should always be the first thing your teen does when entering a vehicle. Not only as the driver, but TopDriver.com shares that your teen should ensure that everyone in the vehicle has a seatbelt on so that everyone’s safety is a priority.
The Scanning Technique
One skill that you should work hard to instill in your child is that of scanning their surroundings. This is something that many teens aren’t used to when they first start driving. However, in order to be aware of what’s going on around them at all times, they have to quickly learn how to scan. According to DMV.org, many teens just focus on what’s ahead of them when they first learn how to drive. While this is fine when they’re just barely learning and you’re hyper-aware, you should teach them how to check their mirrors, glance at their speed, safely look to their blind spots, and more while still being able to keep their eyes on the road. While it can sound hard in theory to your teen, this is one skill that they need in order to be safe on the road.
How To Drive On Highways Or Freeways
Depending on where you live, your teen might be able to avoid having to drive on highways or freeways for quite some time, which is a driving situation that can make many new drivers nervous. But to have a well-rounded driving education, this is something you must teach them. Some of the most important things to impress upon them, according to Wayne Parker, a contributor to VeryWellFamily.com, are how to merge, change lanes, and keeping a safe following distance from the car in front of them. By learning these skills and practicing them well after their teenage years, your child will be much safer when driving.
If you’re about to teach your teen how to drive, consider using the tips mentioned above to help them learn how to be safe.
