Tips For Parents of Young Drivers
If you’re the parent of someone who has just received their license, no doubt you are experiencing a lot of mixed emotions at the moment. Pride, relief (no more driving them to soccer practise three times a week!) but mostly worry. It’s a big thing, letting your child out into the world in control of a powerful and potentially dangerous machine, but it is something that all parents have to do at some stage or another. In order to lessen the amount of stress you experience during these first few months of your young driver’s road career, there are several actions you can take. From setting strict guidelines to getting a car service to make sure everything is running smoothly, here are a few tips to help you relax while they’re out there on the road.
Rules
Sure, there are road rules and laws to take into consideration, but if your child is under 18 and still living at home (especially if they’re using your car) thee is no reason why you can’t sit down with them and agree on some of your own rules for their use of the car that will set your mind at ease. One boundary you might like to consider for the first few months is a two-person maximum in the car while your child is driving. A lot of accidents with young drivers occur wen they have a car full of their friends and are consequently distracted from driving.
By limiting the amount of passengers your child is able to carry you’ll give them a better chance at safer driving. Another guideline to discuss is a curfew when they have the car. Apart from this restricting tired or possibly reckless driving late at night, it will ensure that you don;t spend half the night awake worrying. Alternatively, a simple text-message confirmation when they’ve arrived somewhere is a good way to keep track.
Music
This seems like a bit of an odd element to consider, but studies have shown that the louder and faster the music you listen to while you’re driving is, the more likely you are to drive above the speed limit. As we well know, attempting to make young people listen to music at a reasonable level is often an exercise in futility, but you can certainly reduce the chances by putting the brakes on any plans to install huge sub-woofers or speakers in the first six months of driving.
Maintenance
Obviously, when sending our child out on the road you want to make sure that the vehicle they’re in is up to the challenge. Make sure your child is involved in the process of discussing maintenance costs, registration, car repairs and anything else that needs to be done. Obviously how the finances are worked out is between you, but it is always a good idea to learn early on about the cost and responsibility of owning and maintaining a car.