After a child gets a learner's permit, you may want to consider sending them for professional driving lessons. There are many advantages to doing this rather than allowing them to simply learn by experience or giving them instruction yourself. If you have a child who is getting close to having their learner's permit or already has their permit, note some advantages of professional driving lessons and some questions you might have about how the process works.
1. Why is it safer to send a child to professional training?
It's good to note that a child's safety when behind the wheel is about more than protecting your car from damage. According to some statistics, a 17-year-old with a permit is more than four times as likely to be in a fatal accident than a 26-year-old with a driving license. This is typically due to their inexperience and especially when in dangerous driving conditions, such as when on icy and slick roads, when on crowded or busy streets, when distracted, and so on.
The right professional training can give children the tools needed to make up for their lack of experience; a professional will be able to safely walk them through such dangerous conditions and will know how to train them to handle such conditions properly. Parents may not think of all the dangerous conditions a child with a permit should be instructed about and may not even know the safest procedures for handling such conditions.
2. How long does it take for a child to learn to drive safely?
Each person is different when it comes to their abilities behind the wheel and how quickly they pick up on their instruction, which is another advantage to professional lessons. A professional can note when a student is struggling to understand certain aspects of safe driving and can go over that lesson again and again. This might include having them drive while mimicking a car going into a skid, or having them merge into traffic as many times as needed until they can do so safely.
Some children with learner's permits pick up on these things very quickly, but some get intimidated behind the wheel or just need extra time to remember their instructions. Parents may not realise that their child needs more time to practice or what aspects of safe driving they're not easily learning. Professional lessons can test and monitor students and then concentrate on those areas where a child struggles and ensure they know everything they need to know to be safe when driving.
For more information and tips, contact a local driving school, such as Roadwise Driver Training.