How to teach your teen to drive

Knowing how to teach a teen to drive takes patience and practice. There are several steps to ensure you impart not only essential knowledge of the rules of the road but also driving safety skills to protect your child's and other drivers' lives.

The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among teens ages 16–19 than among any other age group. They have a fatal crash rate almost three times as high as drivers aged 20 and older, according to the CDC. Driver inexperience, not wearing a seat belt, distracted driving, and reckless driving are some of the leading causes of fatal teen crashes. Proper training and sufficient experience can help ensure your teen is safe behind the wheel.

When should you start teaching your child to drive?

You should start teaching a teen to drive when he or she feels ready, not just when they reach the right age to get a learner's permit. Driving is an important life skill and a responsibility, so the teen should be emotionally mature and prepared to take on the challenge.

Where is the best place to teach someone to drive?

Drivers Ed suggests these places to teach your teen to drive, listed in order of increasing complexity. When you allow your child to practice driving you'll see your teen driver's skills progress:

• Big empty parking lots
• Active parking lots
• Rural highways
• Suburban streets
• Small town roads
• City streets
• Highway driving

Does your teen driver have first-time driver jitters? Learn tips for managing new driver anxiety.

What time of day is best to practice driving?

The best time to practice driving for new drivers is early morning with good light, clear weather, and minimal traffic. If your student needs to practice night driving, there's generally less traffic early in the morning once they've mastered daytime driving conditions.

Tips for teaching your teen how to drive

These are the steps to follow when you're teaching someone to drive, and once they've obtained a learner's permit:

Explain basic vehicle operations

Before driving for the first time, show your teen how to adjust seat height, the importance of seat belt use, and how to adjust the mirrors. Demonstrate how to use the vehicle's controls and functions, dashboard warning lights, speedometer, windshield wipers, blinkers, and emergency brake. Teach your child how to check fluids and tire inflation and how to put gas in the car. If possible, let them practice driving in the car they will take the test in.

Create a practice schedule that gradually increases in complexity

Be consistent as possible with driving practice so your teen driver can get comfortable behind the wheel and build skills over time. Establish parent rules for your teenage driver. Consider using a driving simulator so they can get in practice time at home.

Model safe driving behavior

No cell phone use while driving, obey the speed limit, and demonstrate driving courteously. As a driving coach, be patient, encouraging, calm, and supportive to boost your child's driving confidence. Remember when you learned to drive? You might strive to be the driving instructor you wish you had. Be prepared for your young driver to make many mistakes and prepare yourself to moderate your reactions.

Introduce advanced driving skills

As your teen driver gains confidence, teach them defensive driving skills, remind them to have situational awareness, anticipation of the unexpected, how to handle roadside emergencies, and how to change a tire.

Teach and reinforce traffic rule

Advise your teen driver how to react when pedestrians are around, when an emergency vehicle is present, in school bus zones, approaching intersections, yielding the right of way, keeping a safe following distance, merging safely, and using turning lanes.

Prepare for the driving test

Get a driving test study guide from your state department of motor vehicles and practice the driving skills that will help pass the driving test.

Additional tips for teaching your teen to drive

Now, hopefully, you feel better prepared to teach your teen to drive. Next, learn about the best first cars for teenage drivers, and car insurance for teen drivers, so you can have peace of mind as a parent.

Once your teen gets their license and they're free to drive without your supervision, are you worried about their driving habits or where they might go? Consider a teenage driving monitoring device, and check out the results of Progressive's teen driver safety survey, and what it reveals about how parents and teens navigate driving safety.