As soon as I got my license, I was eager to get on the road every chance I got. It was a new sort of freedom, one that every teenager dreams of. But whenever I would ask my mom to use the car, she would hesitate: “It’s not you I don’t trust, it’s everyone else on the road that I’m worried about.”
As maddening as that was to hear as a teen, looking back, it made perfect sense. There are a lot of crazy drivers out there, and there’s little the rest of us can do to stop them. Police departments estimate that 82% of car accidents each year are due to “driver error.” 40,000 people die each year in car accidents, half of them under the age of 23. Those are huge (and frightening) numbers to parents already reluctant to unleash their kids out onto the roads.
So what to do? Sitting in a classroom for eight hours watching “Red Asphalt” is hardly the way to teach kids how to drive their cars. There’s only so much you can learn behind a desk. And it’s not as if seeing grisly car accidents will frighten kids who grew up on blood-and-gore video games, anyway.
Driving is something best taught hands-on. That’s the approach that many driving schools are beginning to take. Take the example of Fast Lane Teen Driving Academy. There, professional drivers teach kids to push the limits of their cars and maintain control - not to mention maintaining their cool - in all kinds of situations.
On a closed race course, students learn basics such as proper seating, hand placement and braking, as well as how to correct a skid or spin, and how to avoid obstacles and other cars. Instructors keep the classes fun - there is little time in the classroom - and keep the encouragement running high and the pressure low, so that kids feel it’s ok to make mistakes. In fact, that’s what instructors want kids to do - for only when you make mistakes can you learn to prevent or best handle them, especially in a car.
Teens will discover the boundaries of their own vehicles, and learn how to regain control when it is lost. Losing control of one’s car is scary, but not if you’re prepared to deal with the emergency situation at hand; not if you’ve practiced the same basic scenario under the supervision of professionals and feel confident in your driving abilities. Kids need to learn for themselves what their cars feel like when they’re about to go into a skid, and they need to learn what it feels like when they’re able to recover from a spinout.
The Fast Lane school - while a little more expensive than traditional driving schools - really provides a custom-made program that’s a little different for every student, but with the same defensive driving techniques that can mean the difference between life and death.
When your kids reach the age where they’re eligible to apply for a driver license, it is always a good idea to refresh your own skills by taking course yourself. Kids learn by imitating you, remember, so set a good example at all times by observing the same rules of the road that you’re teaching your kids. Taking a refresher course yourself only reinforces to kids that you, too - a veteran driver - still value good driving skills, and getting into the habit of proper driving is as good for your kids as it is for everyone else on the road.
Average programs range from $400 to $4,000, depending on the level of skill you’d like to attain and how long you’d like to train. One-day classes, like those offered by Fast Lane Driving Academy, teach basic control skills every driver should possess. But if you’d like to know how to drive like a stuntman, it’ll cost you a few more bucks and a few more hours of your time.
And don’t think that just because you’ve been driving for years that you possess the skills to teach your kids to drive - that’s what professional driving schools are for. You wouldn’t try to home school your kids without some sort of teaching experience or at least a degree, so leave the teaching up to professional teachers.
Besides, most kids don’t like to drive with their parents anyway - most of us can recall times when our parents screamed at us and stomped their feet on the imaginary brakes on the passenger side floor.
Foremost, remember to have patience with your kids - you weren’t born behind the wheel, so don’t expect your kids to know what you know. Some kids have a natural knack for driving, while others require more instruction, encouragement and time behind the wheel before they’re ready to get out there by themselves. Let your kids go at their own pace, provide them with the proper training and equipment, and you’ll give them the skills that will last a lifetime - and allow them to live long enough to do so.
For more information on driving courses, visit www.NewCarBuyingGuide.com, or call:
- Fast Lane Teen Academy: 1-888-948-4888
- BMW Performance Center New Drivers Program: 1-888-345-4BMW (x4269)
- Bob Bondurant: 1-800-842-RACE
