New driver!

[Melalvai]

My daughter turned 15 a month ago and got her learner's permit on her birthday. And then didn't drive for a few weeks because she was scared! She got home from camp last weekend, and the next evening we went to a parking lot for some practice (we've been practicing in parking lots for a while, even without the permit). I directed her to turn onto the street and reluctantly she did...and had a great time driving through quiet streets at 15 mph!

Tonight she drove home from a nearby town, 10 miles, on what passes for a highway around here. She got all the way up to 4th gear! (Lots of people passed us...I was glad for the "PERMIT DRIVER" signs in our windows.) Our car is a clutch, and a temperamental clutch at that, and will probably be the most difficult car she ever drives. A good car to learn on, though I think we'll be replacing our clutch again.

I've heard that kids who learned vehicular cycling are better drivers. I don't have anything to compare her to so I don't know, but I hope so! At least she understands "Share the Road".

Any helpful advice, suggestions, things to watch out for? I want her to be a safe, experience driver yet not become dependent on the car.

[crazycanuck]

Long post as i have recent experience...

Is your daughter taking professional driving lessons? The only way to go & saves relationships. I learnt how to drive a few years ago(ok, i'm a bit late to the game & got me licence when i was 32 ).


Anywho..suggestions:
Continually scan the road & think about the area you're driving in. Be ready for anything to run accross the road to catch a ball, a cyclist not paying attention, etc.
Think about what you're doing while you're at the wheel.
Don't get bullied by other drivers.
Remember the 2 second rule
Driving a manual is indeed the best thing as it's similar to cycling-get into the wrong gear at a roundabout or hill & you'll look like a complete dork when you stall.. Think ahead.


Let her know that failing her driving test is ok. Driving test instructors are $*$*$*. I failed mine three times because of teeny things like not having my wheels parked the exact way uphill or parking a smidgen (and I mean a smidgen) bit too close to the side of the road...I ended up using my driving instructor's car during tests because it was easier to drive than our old clunky vehicle.

Funny story to tell you...When I got my learners, my dear said i'd be doing a lot of the driving to get used to it. Our friends lived on the North Shore (Auckland) and we lived on the other side & he suggested I drive. The Auckland Harbour Bridge is in the way & not the best place for a learer to gain confidence. As I was driving, a police car pulled up behind us & put his hazard lights on. (Yes, he saw the L plates..) When it was safe to do so & oddly enough right by the freeway police station, we pulled over. The officer stated they had received a call about a drunk driver on the bridge and then suggested perhaps it's not the best idea to take a new learner over the Harbour Bridge.

I'll never let my dear forget as I was freaked out driving in busy traffic!!!

I'm now known as the really short chick in the ute

[Melalvai]

Thanks! I do want her to take driver's ed, but I haven't yet found a place. I'm hoping when school starts someone at the high school will know where to take driver's ed. There wasn't anything in the phone book. It's a small town...but nothing larger for 90 miles.

She drove home from a town 10 miles away, and used 4th gear for the first time! I was really glad we had those "Permit Driver" signs in the windows. It's a 55 mph highway, she went 35 mph at the fastest.

[tulip]

Good for you for teaching your daughter to drive standard transmission. It's so important to be able to drive stick shift cars; you never know when you might have to drive one even if you choose to drive an automatic.

I'm convinced that people who know how to drive stick shift cars are better drivers because they are aware of what the car is doing mechanically. Awareness is #1 when driving, and so many people float about completely on autopilot. That's where many problems arise. So Big Kudos to you!

Here's what my father did for me: I took drivers ed. It was offered at school. Is it not offered at school where you live? I had a learners permit, and I drove with my parents alot. Even after I got my license, my father made me log 2000 miles with him or my stepmother before I could drive on my own.

I also had to change each tire twice--eight tire changes before I could drive alone.

The 2000 miles and the tire changes and the manual transmission should all be required in my book.

[Biciclista]

we had a car (Eagle Summit/Mitsubishi Mirage) with a tough kind of clutch. I took both of my sons out innumerable times to a large parking lot to practice shifting gears. They never got it. Neither one of them, and they were both motivated and are both mechanically inclined and coordinated. One day we borrowed my mother's car (the Honda Civic that I ended up buying and driving for 11 years) and I let my older son drive it. he picked up instantly and drove it like a pro, even double shifting once.
Both of them drive std transmission cars now - with pride.

Good luck with your daughter and your car.... (we replaced the clutch in the Eagle Summit too because of them.. )

[Crankin]

You have to take driver's ed here. Most towns have it through their community education classes or people go to private driving schools. We did the private route because it was easier to arrange the driving part. Plus, parents have to log 30 hours with their kids, too.
Son #1 was the worst, most timid driver around. He crashed DH's car when he had his permit, because he didn't turn the wheel, pulling away from the curb when he was picking up pies for a band fundraiser, in front of the high school. He crashed it into his friend's mom's van she uses for her daycare business! It wasn't damaged, but DH's car was. DH put duct tape on the broken headlight and fender and made Josh get back in the car and go pick up his brother at religious school... DS #2 refused to get in the car when he saw the damage. Well, after DH spent 100+ hours with him, as well as the lessons, he did pass his test on the first try. The first year he had his license, he basically drove to school and back, and to friend's houses. Then, he started venturing out. He now lives in the city and drives in places I won't go in my car.
DS #2 had been cycling for almost 3 years when he got his permit (you have to be 16 here). He drove home from the registry, the day he took the permit test, on the freeway, and never had any issues, in my rather large 4 Runner I had at the time. I really think cycling made the difference.

[badgercat]

Good for you for teaching your daughter to drive standard transmission. It's so important to be able to drive stick shift cars; you never know when you might have to drive one even if you choose to drive an automatic.

I never even RODE in a manual-transmission car until I was in college, and I've still never driven one! I think this has something to do with stick being a bit annoying in big city stop-and-go traffic, and there was certainly more than enough of that around Chicago. Almost no one I knew drove cars with a stick (though several of my friends did learn on relatives' cars--I had no such access). I would LOVE to learn, if I could find a friend who would trust their poor clutch in my newbie hands (foot?).

Good luck to your daughter (and you!) Melavai, and yes, I think in the end she'll thank you for teaching her to drive in a "difficult" car! I feel that way about weather: I got my learner's permit when I was 15 and took driver's ed starting in January, which does not make for good street conditions in Chicago. So though I missed out on the benefits of learning to drive stick, I do have the advantage of having learned to handle a car while the roads were icy and slushy.

I remember my first time behind the wheel was in the forest preserves, and I actually asked my mom which way I needed to flip the turn signal lever if I wanted to signal one direction or another (you'd think "in the same direction you turn the wheel" would have been intuitive enough....)

[crazycanuck]

Do they have the graduated licencing system in the US?

I know that here in Australia, young drivers need to keep a detailed driving log etc but I don't know much more about the system. In NZ, we didn't *phew* . I do know that when i left NZ I was on a provisional licence & it's reciprocal here(for NZ citizens residing in Aust..boy do we have it good..) meaning I still had to have P plates on our vehicle.

I was soooo happy to remove them!

Also, we were looked upon favourably by the driving instructors if we did driving lessons in a manual.

[Mr. Bloom]

and will probably be the most difficult car she ever drives.

...wow! Memories of my dad's '69 Nova! Power NOTHING and drove like a truck. Wasn't a problem unless you had to turn left or right!

Needless to say, I got a car with power steering!