Top Five Ways Drivers Ed Helps Your Teen

The first couple of years of driving are statistically the most dangerous of all – and that effect is only magnified if the driver is very young. If your teen is starting to learn how to drive at 15 or 16, they’re in a dangerous place. A formal drivers education course is a good way to offset some of that risk.

Here are some of the ways drivers ed helps your teen at a difficult time:

1. Learning the Fundamentals

There are quite a few rules of the road that have to be mastered by every driver. The first step is getting a comprehensive overview of all those rules, so that you can be sure your teen didn’t miss anything. Learning on the fly has its advantages, but it can be dangerous for teens to remember all of these new rules while they’re still learning how to steer straight. Give them the chance to bone up on the fundamentals in a systemic way, so they won’t be caught off guard down the line.

2. Giving Them Confidence

It’s scary for a teen to get behind the wheel for the first time. And nerves – both yours and your teen’s – don’t help matters when you’re engaging in a dangerous activity like driving. There’s so much to learn, and it can be overwhelming. Why not give them the chance to practice in a safe environment, so they can feel more confident going forward? It can mean a much mellower experience, not only for them, but also for you, as an experienced driver showing them the ropes.

3. Highlighting the Risks

Driving is so common that sometimes we lose sight of how dangerous it can be – and it’s important that new drivers are aware of this. It’s dangerous to be too nervous, but if your teen isn’t at least a little nervous, the message that they’re doing something dangerous probably hasn’t landed. A good drivers education program makes it clear what the risks are – and makes it that much easier for your teen to avoid them.

4. Driving Home the Consequences

It’s been proven: neurologically, teenagers aren’t as quick as adults to recognize the consequences of their actions. In a drivers ed course, your teen will learn how serious it is to be involved in a DUI situation, for example – as both a driver and a passenger. On the road, lives are very much on the line, and your teen has to take seriously their responsibility to their safety and the safety of others. With a two-thousand pound machine involved, it’s much better for them to learn it this way than by trial and error.

5. Getting Some Quality Practice Time

Drivers ed courses give your teen a safe, supervised environment to practice their driving skills. That can be extremely valuable to teens just starting out. They can ask questions, they can learn techniques, and they can do it all in a confidence-building setting. With a qualified instructor present, they can start developing their skills in a richly educational environment.