I was reminiscing the other day about the time I was learning to drive. How I got behind the wheel of my dad's shining old V8 gas guzzler - I could barely see over the steering wheel! The mirror was all wrong so it had to be adjusted, the seats were way to far from the steering wheel, so my feet couldn't reach the pedals. And when I turned the key I heard a sound that at that moment sounded to me like the beginning of Armageddon. Yet, deep down there was a rising feeling of excitement, a knowledge of things to come, roads to conquer.
The information below is so you can help your teenage son or daughter to go through a little less stress when he/she is learning to drive. Of course it's also useful to protect you from serious bodily harm during the whole process...
It's all-important that you don't try to teach him everything there is to know in one lesson. Take things slowly, one at a time. First make sure he knows the rules of the road - all the theoretical knowledge he heeds to have to be a good drive. Then starts teaching him about the controls of the car - what they do, and where they are. The indicators, the windscreen wipers, the emergency brake and the light switch. These things can save his life in an emergency one day, when there is just no time to think where on earth did they put the switch for the windscreen wipers.
Secondly, remember that practice makes perfect. Even if your student can't wait to get going, let him practice all the basic skills over and over. Once again, in an emergency situation they have to react instinctively. There is no time to think what your next step should be. Let them practice in an empty parking lot after hours.
Parking a car is something that many people don't master during a lifetime, so be patient with your student, especially when it comes to reverse parking. Teach him how to reverse the car while watching the rear view window at the same time - many learner drivers find this frightening.
Something else that does not come naturally to a new drive is to slow down BEFORE you get to a curve, and how far from a stop sign you have to start slowing down and apply the brakes. Discuss this with him before you even leave the parking area and venture into traffic. One of the most terrifying experiences for a learner drive is to stop at a stop street, and then pull away while there is a car coming in the distance. It is therefore better to practice this after hours, in a quiet part of town.
A few other things that greatly scare learner drivers can be summarized with three words: Things that move. People walking right in front of the car, bicycles swerving in front of you, and if you are in the suburbs, dogs and cats running across the road. A student driver can have a terrible fright when this happens, and do something that neither he nor anybody else could predict. It is therefore a good idea to talk about all this before the time, and discuss appropriate reactions.
Something that few driving schools or instructors concentrate on, is to prepare the student for unusual circumstances and conditions. Driving in the rain or snow, or at night, or where there are road works require particular skill, and you must not lose your presence of mind in such a situation. It's hard to prepare someone for something not even you can foresee, so it's probably a good idea to get a professional driving instruction video that covers this, and to watch it together with your student. You can then discuss the conditions it portrays and what a proper reaction would be under each set of circumstances. This is a better way of learning to drive than losing your life while trying.
The information below is so you can help your teenage son or daughter to go through a little less stress when he/she is learning to drive. Of course it's also useful to protect you from serious bodily harm during the whole process...
It's all-important that you don't try to teach him everything there is to know in one lesson. Take things slowly, one at a time. First make sure he knows the rules of the road - all the theoretical knowledge he heeds to have to be a good drive. Then starts teaching him about the controls of the car - what they do, and where they are. The indicators, the windscreen wipers, the emergency brake and the light switch. These things can save his life in an emergency one day, when there is just no time to think where on earth did they put the switch for the windscreen wipers.
Secondly, remember that practice makes perfect. Even if your student can't wait to get going, let him practice all the basic skills over and over. Once again, in an emergency situation they have to react instinctively. There is no time to think what your next step should be. Let them practice in an empty parking lot after hours.
Parking a car is something that many people don't master during a lifetime, so be patient with your student, especially when it comes to reverse parking. Teach him how to reverse the car while watching the rear view window at the same time - many learner drivers find this frightening.
Something else that does not come naturally to a new drive is to slow down BEFORE you get to a curve, and how far from a stop sign you have to start slowing down and apply the brakes. Discuss this with him before you even leave the parking area and venture into traffic. One of the most terrifying experiences for a learner drive is to stop at a stop street, and then pull away while there is a car coming in the distance. It is therefore better to practice this after hours, in a quiet part of town.
A few other things that greatly scare learner drivers can be summarized with three words: Things that move. People walking right in front of the car, bicycles swerving in front of you, and if you are in the suburbs, dogs and cats running across the road. A student driver can have a terrible fright when this happens, and do something that neither he nor anybody else could predict. It is therefore a good idea to talk about all this before the time, and discuss appropriate reactions.
Something that few driving schools or instructors concentrate on, is to prepare the student for unusual circumstances and conditions. Driving in the rain or snow, or at night, or where there are road works require particular skill, and you must not lose your presence of mind in such a situation. It's hard to prepare someone for something not even you can foresee, so it's probably a good idea to get a professional driving instruction video that covers this, and to watch it together with your student. You can then discuss the conditions it portrays and what a proper reaction would be under each set of circumstances. This is a better way of learning to drive than losing your life while trying.
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topgear offer driving instructors anniesland and there is more iformation about driving lessons in anniesland at www.topgeardrivingtuition.com
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