If you are a parent of a teenager, driving test day brings a lot of excitement and usually a demotion from unpaid-taxi driver to nervous parent seeing them get out on the road on their own for the first time. But you need not worry too much, helping them to stay safe on the roads is easier than it seems. Here are some handy tips for parents, to help your children pass their driving test!
Make sure they take plenty of lessons – taking plenty of driving lessons is one of the keys to confidence behind the wheel and being confident you are in control of your vehicle is one of the ways for your child to become a safer driver. Practice makes perfect!
Do some practice with them at home – if you want to, you can also do some practice with them in your own car with you as a passenger (make sure you take out learner driver insurance too though). The extra practice will help them to master what they have learned in their lessons and get the confidence they need to pass their driving test.
Help them to learn the highway code – there are plenty of online resources to help them with their highway code and you can even do practice theory tests on the Government website. This will not only help them to pass their theory test and get well on the way to their practical, but it will also help them to feel more confident navigating the roads behind the wheel.
Help them understand difficult manoeuvres while you are behind the wheel – they will learn a lot of their driving knowledge when they are a passenger in your car. So, help them to understand which lane you should be in on a roundabout, and once you have done that a few times, you can always quiz them while you are out on the road.
Help them manage their test-day jitters – the pressure of passing your driving test can be a lot for young people to cope with, especially if it is something they have been waiting to do for a while. Help them to stay calm by making sure they have eaten something or maybe play some music to help distract them. It is also a lot less pressure if most people do not know they are booked in for their test, to help ease the disappointment if they fail. Though failing the first time is nothing to worry about, studies show that second or third-time passers might be safer drivers!