TEACHING TEENS TO DRIVE
Automotive writer Mark Richardson learns a valuable lesson after pushing his son to get a licence,
My eldest son, Andrew, doesn’t really care about driving — unless he’s playing Grand Theft Auto. Trolling to the store in the family car just doesn’t have the same appeal. He stays connected to friends with his phone, not his wheels.
It’s smart to get a driver’s licence as early as possible, however. A kid who gets a licence at16 can practise in a parent’s car while finishing high school and completing post-secondary education. At 21, he or she will have five years of driving experience. If there have been no accidents or tickets, it could be good for a five-star insurance rating when it’s time to actually buy a car of their own.
We had to press Andrew to get his licence, however, and he finally sat the G1test soon after turning 18 this year. He passed on the second attempt.
“He’s not driving my car,” said my wife flatly, which I didn’t mind because she drives a V6-powered Toyota that’s pretty quick in a straight line. So my car was elected as the training vehicle — my 10-year-old, 4speed automatic Hyundai Tucson. Very dull. It would be perfect.
Our first drive was straightforward: an hour of country roads and concentration, with little to do but drive slowly, stop at stop signs, and get used to the position of the car in the lane.
I remember every moment of that drive. I asked Andrew before we started moving, “What’s the first thing you must do when you get in the car?” and he glanced in the mirror like a pro. “Check behind you to make sure you’re not going to reverse over any cats,” he said.
It was successful, and no cat was harmed. We even went through a Tim’s drive-thru at the end to celebrate.
The second drive was not so simple. We ventured into town, but Andrew overshot a turn into a side street and found himself facing another vehicle in the opposite lane. Other traffic backed up behind us. He panicked and put the Tucson into reverse, spinning the tires backward in his fluster, almost crunching into an innocent Ram pickup truck.
It was then, as I tried to stay calm in the passenger seat, that I wished we had a similar system to British Columbia and most of Europe. New or learning drivers are required to be identified there by large stickers on the backs of their vehicles; other drivers understand that these “N” or “L” — plated drivers are still getting the hang of things, so give them some extra space and understanding.
There’s no such identification in Ontario, and there should be.
So I vowed Andrew’s next lesson would be with a professional instructor and we hung up the keys for awhile. But today, with some spare time and spare gas, the memory of the in-town panic faded enough that we ventured out for another drive in the Tucson.
Once again, Andrew checked for cats before putting the car into reverse in the driveway. And once again, he swung out a little too wide in the roadway, but soon had us back in line. We headed out into the country and tried to relax.
The most important advice for any driver, new or otherwise, is to leave a large “envelope of safety” around their vehicle — so there’s space to react to the actions of another vehicle. This is simple to do on rural roads, driving slowly and steadily, staying focused on the task at hand, but more challenging back in town.
The second most important advice is “anticipation:” look far down the road at where you want to go and make decisions in plenty of time. This allows the driver considerably more reaction space when needed and it sounds obvious, but it didn’t come naturally to Andrew. He’s always been driven places with no reason to watch the road.
In town now, other drivers kept changing the landscape.
“Watch out for this person on the left — he might pull out into the road in front of you,” I advised. “Keep an eye on the person behind — she might want to overtake when you’re about to turn. Slow down for that driver ahead — he could suddenly find a parking space . . .”
The most important advice for any driver, new or otherwise, is to leave a large “envelope of safety” around their vehicle — so there’s space to react to the actions of another vehicle
Which is exactly what happened. The car two vehicles ahead suddenly stopped to move into a parallel parking space. Andrew’s eyes were off the road, looking down at the dash to dial back the fan blowing cold air on his arms, and when he looked up, the car immediately ahead was stopped. I yelled “Brake!” and braced for impact.
Fortunately, Andrew stopped in time with a chirp of the tires, but he was a little shaken. We were almost home and he got us
back with no further incident, but the lesson was learned. Next time, leave it to the professionals. Next week: Young Drivers of Canada takes over Freelance writer Mark Richardson is a frequent contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. Next week, he will profile one of Canada’s better-known driver training companies. To reach him, email
wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.