Learning to drive is a fun, exciting, goal-reaching time in a young persons life – or at least it should be.
Have you heard or done these things before when in the car with your learner teen?
- “You’re clear, quick go!”
- “Stop, you’re not clear!”
- “Move over, not so far, NO!”
- “Not like that, like this!”
Chances are, these are parts of the conversations going on inside Learner vehicles at times as parents/carers/mentors attempt to shine a light on the learner driver to be as wonderful as they are, all in under an hour. It can be stressful, loud, annoying, scary, and put you off driving again – And that’s for the Learner Driver!
So, how do we navigate teaching our learner teen to drive, without engaging a driving instructor and paying all that money? It can start with recognising the amazing opportunity in front of you, as this is a perfect time to spend quality time one-on-one with your teen and build or increase the bond.
Yes all well and good for me to say, I have dual controls and mirrors so I can hit the brake and see what’s around me. True, but if you take a few moments to review some points here, hopefully it will assist you to develop some tools and skills that can assist you teach your learner to drive safely, cheaply, and with the added bonus of having quality time together.
- Firstly, consider when YOU did your driving test. Has anything changed since then? Updated rules, roads, vehicles? Is that going to impact your ability to teach a young learner now to drive in this era? Those teaching others should ensure they have the current skills to provide information in a correct manner.
- Download and Read the NSW Road Users Handbook and read the Learner Log book, for information on current rules and what the learner is expected to achieve in a safe driving journey.
- Ebayand other sites have a number of cheap and good Suction cap Mirrors for inside the car to assist your vision, and L & P plate clipsto provide legal display of plates.
- Ensure your L plates are legally on the vehicle Must be fitted to the front and rear of the vehicle, AND visible from at least 20 meters with NO part of the L covered by a number plate.
- Now comes the good part. Plan a time to drive with your learner and review what you will practice PRIOR to the drive, by using the Road Users Handbook. Setting time aside to plan, will greatly assist both of you. After all, this is going to be the most Dangerous thing they will do, driving and road crashes claim too many lives and have too many injuries, so it’s important to prepare as they are learning.
- Start by getting to know your vehicle, explain all the switches, lights and actions in the car and outside, so the learner can be comfortable knowing all about the vehicle, not just jumping in and driving.
- Have a conversation with your learner about any anxiety they may have, if needed, find a good car park and drive there first so they don’t have the anxiety of driving in traffic on their first drive.
- Start Slow – commence with easy moving off and stopping techniques and build from there, as the Road Users Handbook guides you.
How do you remain calm?
Yes, this is an issue of practice and trust. Learners thrust into the drivers seat will have a range of emotions and feelings about what is going on, often they are more fearful of upsetting their supervisor/parent and getting yelled at, than the fear of other traffic.
To overcome that concern will take some time, and communication with the learner. Start first by explaining how you will give directions, clear concise and short phrases or words, to reduce the stress on their workload.
Next will be words you agree on for instructions, the recommended words are:
Ease on; Ease off; Squeeze on; Squeeze off – These apply to Accelerator, Brakes and Clutch.
Wind On Steering, Unwind Steering; Left hand down, Right hand down etc – Steering techniques are Handover Steering, and Pull-Push steering (harder).
Include an emergency phrase such as ‘Brake Brake Brake’, advising that if the learner hears this, they should stop the car smoothly but quickly. Also a good idea to practice this in a sparse area prior to actually needing it. In the case that the learner fails to brake, be ready and sure/practiced in using the handbrake (if you have a real one) to help stop the car.
Overall it’s about trust, and allowing your learner to progress in this new area, while also feeling safe with you and comfortable that what ever happens, they are trying their best with the information they have been given, and remember they look up to you, so they are interested in how you learnt and how you can now teach them.
This is a great opportunity for you both to upskill your driving, AND have quality time together while learning to be safe. We hope you enjoy your learner driving journey.