Do You Have Your Teenage Driver Signed Up for Drivers Education Classes?
That greedy buzzard!
It is a funny story to tell now that you are home from your trip, but the fact that one greedy buzzard left the road kill feast a little later than his friends actually caused a significant amount of damage to your daughter’s car. You were glad that you were driving at the time because you are not certain that any of the information they had covered in your 16 year old daughter’s beginner driving course would have prepared her for the large bird hitting first the hood and then the roof of the car. As an experienced driver you knew enough not to attempt to swerve out of the way, but you are not certain any of your daughter’s practice driving so far would have helped.
Fortunately, the rest of the road trip to visit eight college classes was pretty uneventful. When you had time to survey the dents created by the body slamming bird on the hood and the roof, however, your daughter was more than a little disappointed that her new car was now marked. The beginner driving course she had taken earlier in the summer had prepared the youngest driver in her family for many things, it had not, however, prepared her for the first two dents in her brightly colored blue sports sedan.
Other than the greedy buzzard event, you are happy to report that the long road trip was a huge success. In addition to learning a lot about several colleges down south, your daughter also learned to navigate the roads, streets, highways, and interstates in a new part of the country. For while her beginner driving course taught her a good deal about the area where you live, this road trip through six different states taught your daughter a lot about how to read the signs on large interstate systems in a couple of different cities. Both as a driver and a navigator, your young driver also learned a lot about what it takes to travel long distances and remain safe, everything from where the best places are to stop for breaks how to make sure that you always have enough fuel when you are traveling in more remote ares.
Even though your daughter was sometimes frustrated with your driving advice, she also realizes that the fact that you allowed her so many driving opportunities means that she is far more experienced than some of her friends.
Do You Have a New Driver in Your Family?
Enrolling a new teenage driver in a beginner driving course is often a very good idea. Having someone outside of the family help your son or daughter navigate the details of learning to drive. Beginner driving schools, in fact, not only eliminate much of the stress between parents and their teenagers, they can also help decrease insurance costs in many states. The decision to let a trained professional teach your new driver the traffic lessons, as well as get the experience they need when they are just starting, is often the least stressful way for your a new driver to begin this important life skill.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the importance of safe driving, whether you are a new or seasoned driver:
- Teenagers are almost 10 times more likely to be in a crash in their first year on the road.
- 56% of teenagers rely on their parents to learn how to drive
- Unfortunately, 65% of teenagers consistently wear their seat belts as both a passenger and a driver.
- 20% of juniors in high school report being in a crash as a driver in the last 12 months.
- The fatality rate for drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 is four times that of drivers between the ages of 25 and 69 years.
A beginner driver course may not give your teenager practice avoiding a greedy buzzard on the roadway, but it might be able to help your new driver learn the rules of the road from a professional driving instructor who is both patient and calm. A combination that is not easy to muster when you are the mother or father of a new driver!
