Should I teach my teen how to drive?

Our parents are role models to us in what they say or do. We, as children, try to imitate and copy them. Whilst this is a norm in any family, it might be different in some occasions. One of them for instance is when learning to drive. Being a parent who drives and believes that he/she can drive well, often instils this thought trend to their offspring. But this can be quite a terrifying experience when it comes to teaching your child to drive, especially if a parent has bad driving habits and is blissfully (and dangerously) unaware of it.

According to a recent survey, it was evident that over 800 or so drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 had picked up bad driving habits from their parents. Some of these bad habits were, using the mobile while driving, over-speeding, overtaking in danger zones, road rage and even intoxicated driving. A learner driver, especially when it’s their Son or Daughter, is exposed to these dangerous habits when they begin or continue learning from their parents. Those are some of the more apparent bad habits, but then there are the not so profound ones that also need attention. For example, parallel parking, reverse parking, checking for blind spots, these may also be regions of failure by the parents which are rarely professionally addressed.

During research interviews (also known as conversations with our driving students), many teen and learner drivers were forthcoming that their parents had given them wrong instructions to that of a professional instructor. Many would return home and explain to their parents the correct way of doing a certain maneuver or particular skill, in turn providing education to not only the child, but the parent alike. The key is to give your child the opportunity to learn driving the right way, from a professional driving instructor.

 Some learner drivers may still opt for a parental approach when it comes to driving and may be reluctant to hire an instructor, but driving is single handedly the most dangerous thing a person will do (repeatedly) in their life. While the comfort of a parent may be higher than with a stranger, it's an undeniable fact that people learn more from strangers than they do from their parents when they are 16. If you don't believe me, go check your teenagers room and see if they have cleaned it up yet. Overcoming stranger anxiety and facing off to the challenge of being a safe driver is a worthy investment and our skilled team is here to help alleviate those fears and put you (or your child) in the drivers seat towards learning to drive.