Getting your driver’s license is one of the most exciting parts of your teenage years. Whether you’re working on your permit right now, planning on getting your license soon, or just got your license, you need to be a safe driver. There are several skills every teen driver should have; here, we discuss a few of the important skills. Read on to learn more.
Mastering the Basics
You can’t be a good driver if you don’t master the basics of safe driving. Some of the basics include parking, maintaining a safe speed and following distance, changing lanes, and merging into traffic. Although these are incredibly basic, you have to be an expert behind the wheel, and the only way you’ll get expert-level skills is with practice and consistency. Don’t only drive once a month; make it a priority to drive at least a few times a week.
Driving Defensively
While you’re working on mastering the basics of driving, you also need to practice defensive driving. Defensive driving is probably the best thing you can do to stay safe. The characteristics of a defensive driver include keeping plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you and abiding by the posted speed limit. Additionally, you should get accustomed to accelerating and braking gently as opposed to gunning it or slamming on the brakes, as those actions can cause accidents and damage your car.
Identifying the Different Kind of Drivers
Finally, to tie everything we’ve discussed together, you should be able to recognize the different kinds of drivers (hint: one of them is you). When you can pick up on the drivers’ habits of those around you, you’ll know if you should increase your distance or not. For instance, there’s always that one driver who wants to go faster than everybody else—instead of getting angry, just get out of their way. Additionally, if a car in front of you is swerving or coming into your lane, they might be distracted by their phone or radio. Again, you should back away.
Driving is one of the best privileges we have, but it can easily be taken away. By learning the skills every teen driver should have, you’ll be safer and smarter behind the wheel.