Raising Safe Drivers – Driving Safety Tips
There will come a time for every parent when their child begins driving lessons. These days, almost every public high school makes driver’s education a required part of the curriculum. Driver’s education includes instruction by a qualified teacher, in-class lectures, writing assignments, textbook reading, quizzes, tests, and supervised driving. Students will also be required to fulfill a number of practice hours outside of the classroom. At this point, students turn to their parents to help them fulfill the hours required for them to pass the class and earn their learner’s permit – the first step to earning a full-fledged driver’s license.
This is a challenging time for many parents. Many parents report that they begin to take stock of their own driving habits once their young adult children start to explore what it means to drive a car. Even though your child is beginning to earn their driver’s license and is studying the subject in school, there are still a number of things that you can do to influence them in a positive way. As a parent, you have the power to help raise the next generation of safe drivers.
Identifying Your Personal Driving Habits
Once their children start taking driver’s education classes, it’s common for parents to realize that they have developed some unsafe driving habits over the years. Kids are well-known for the ability to pick up on the behaviors of those around them and so it’s in everyone’s best interest that you take careful stock of how you’re driving and strive to correct any mistakes you find yourself making.
Increasing your awareness of the road in front of you is the first step to improving your daily driving habits. It’s very easy to become distracted when you’ve been driving the same route over and over again. When you know the route you’re driving it’s very easy to let your attention slide away from the road in front of you. You might take your attention away from the road to change the radio station or to retrieve something that fell out of reach. Even people who think of themselves as safe drivers can let their attention stray from the road.
Making Changes
The months in which your student is enrolled in driver’s education classes is a great time to start making changes in your own driving habits. During this time, kids pay close attention to the driving techniques of those around them. Once you have identified the ways in which your driving needs improvement, begin to implement those changes a little bit at a time. It takes many repetitions before a habit becomes engrained, so don’t give up. Persistence will pay off for you and will be a good model for the young drivers in your family.
Safety is a Life Long Habit
Above all, you want your children to grow up to be safe and competent drivers. This takes a lot of practice on their part and a good deal of engagement on yours. If you don’t make the time to drive with them and help them complete their required practice hours, they will have a lot of difficulty earning their license. Stay involved with your child’s driver’s education classes and do what you can to help them. Being a safe and confident driver starts at home, so set a good example and help your young adult stay safe behind the wheel.