Tips for New Drivers

A Teen's Perspective

A licence to drive is a ticket to freedom for teens and for many of their parents. Sometimes in their excitement to gain this new found freedom, teenagers forget to keep safety and responsibility first. Peer pressure can lead to unsafe driving habits. A new driver may not have enough experience to respond well in an emergency.

Here are a few tips provided by young drivers that might help as you enter the world of driving.

Arrive at school five to ten minutes early and leave five minutes late to avoid the mad dash into and out of the parking lots. Many collisions happen when teens are rushing around.
Watch for kids getting on or off a school bus. If a school bus has stopped and the red lights are flashing - Do Not Pass. This indicates that the bus is picking up or dropping off passengers.
Go slow - obey the speed limits. Speeding does not get you there quicker and it could get you or someone else killed.
While you are learning and improving your skills, avoid turning left across busy intersections that do not have left turn traffic light controls. It takes a while to learn how to judge the speed of the oncoming traffic. Eventually this will be easier for you.
Do not make assumptions about what other drivers are going to do. The only thing you can assume about another driver with a turn signal on is that the turn signal is on. The driver might not be turning.
When there is an obstruction in your lane, wait for oncoming traffic to clear before you go around. Just because someone is blocking your lane it does not mean you have the right of way in the next or oncoming lane.
Always wear your seat belt, and make sure all your passengers do as well.
Never try to fit more people than you have seatbelts for in your car.
Do not run red or yellow lights.
Use turn signals to tell other drivers what you are doing. Turn your signal on in time to give the drivers behind time to react before you take the action.
When the traffic light turns green, make sure vehicles and pedestrians clear the intersection before you go.
Do not drive like you own the road - drive like you own the car.

New Drivers in Bad Weather

Keeping control of a motor vehicle can be challenging in ideal conditions and even more difficult when conditions are less than ideal. Here are a few tips to help you if you must travel in bad weather conditions:

Turn on your headlights whenever you drive, and especially in rain, fog, sleet, freezing rain, or snow. In fog, heavy rain or snow, do not use your high beam headlights as it only makes it harder to see.
Double the space you normally leave between you and the vehicle in front of you. You will need more room to stop on slippery roads than when the pavement is dry.
Brake gently.

Braking in bad weather can be tricky. When braking on wet roads:

If you have ABS (anti-lock) brakes do not pump the brakes, instead maintain steady pressure.
If you skid with non-ABS brakes ease off the brakes to unlock the wheels, then brake again gently without locking the wheels.

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General Tips

Tips for Parents of Teen Drivers

Your teenagers have been begging you for months to allow them to get their driver's licence. They have taken a driver training course, had plenty of practice, and say they are ready. You know your teenager is a responsible, safety conscious person, and can handle the responsibility of driving a motor vehicle.

Still, your head tells you that attitudes can change when your teenager is confronted with one of the biggest teen challenges - peer pressure.

Teen attitudes can change rapidly from the moment a teen leaves the house. Some teens rebel against adult standards and regulations. Also, peer pressure, at that moment, can have a much greater influence on decision-making than advice from an adult.

Teens are sometimes slower to sense danger. Who has not seen a teen in action and said, "they have no fear of danger"? While you can not control your teenager when he or she leaves the house, there are some things you can do to help ensure their safe return:

Make sure your teen gets as much supervised driving time as possible. Even after getting their licence, supervised driving time will help to reinforce safe and responsible driving habits.
Restrict driving to a limited number of hours per week for the first few months according to ‘time of day’ and some potentially risky situations.
Realize that your teen may act differently driving with you than with their friends. Make sure he or she has had plenty of training before allowing your teen to drive their friends.
Because your teenager is learning, and driving can be more dangerous after dark, restrict their time behind the wheel to daylight hours.
Start with using approved safety restraint devices, such as seat belts and car seats, on your children every time he or she travels in a vehicle. Set the example yourself by making ‘buckling up’ a habit.
Choose safe cars for your teens. Muscle cars and teens can be a deadly combination.
Set a zero tolerance policy for car use and alcohol use.

Did you know? - In Alberta, a parent or guardian, of a person 17 years of age or younger, must give written consent to allow their teen to get a driver’s licence. You can revoke that permission at anytime, and your teen's operator's licence will be cancelled?

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Updated May 2007