My 1st time going through this.
My daughter just got her permit :eek:
She's done the class room part of the drivers ed class and won't be doing road lessons for 2 months as required to have permit for 2 months before the driving schools let them drive.

So who's got any advice for new drivers and parents helping them learn ?

Also,
Whats the best way to avoid getting gray hairs ! :hidin:

No kids of my own yet so not trying to give parenting advice here but from my own experience (my $350 clunker days contrasted with some "affluent" friends), if the kid (driver) pays for the car and insurance, the responsibility level *seems* to go up appreciably.
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does she have a very patient uncle or aunt or grandpa?
once she gets permit, take to someplace like an industrial park or parking lot, learn to get used to the vehicle and parking and stuff with no traffic.

I did the big parking lot thing with my kids Ron! Would strongly recommend you take her up to Gillette stadium lot in a few weeks and show her how to drive under the big sign that will say "Home of the Superbowl Champion Patriots"!:jester::laugha::rotflmao::hihi::stir: LOL!!! Sorry....could not resist! LOL!! You are in a great area for her to learn to drive Ron....quiet roads....not like up this way. We used the parking lot for a few days doing turns, backing up, parking in spaces....things like that! I took a couple of cones with us and they practiced backing in between them! Also might be helpful to put a "Student Driver" sign on the back of the car so all the impatient asswipes know what the deal is so they don't try to run you off the road! Biggest thing....read her the riot act on cell phone use while driving....we told my son if we catch him doing it he will pay his own car insurance going forward! (We are paying it while he goes to college! Good luck Ron!:uhuh:

When I was being taught, it seemed that my parents had "NO" patients with me. Always a much better outing when someone else took me out. My Uncle was great with me, and never got upset with what I was doing. Just my 2 cents.

Drive with her in the passenger seat and do a running play by play of what is going on and what she has to do. Merge signs, yield signs, the different painted lines on the road. I was shocked to find that my own brother didn't know that the short dash lines meant that an exit was near. Most drivers don't know any of these things and their driving shows it. Also teach her defensive driving, keeping her eyes on the road and mirrors and how to be aware of what the other drivers are doing. No one else will , not even the driving school.

Our second daughter got her license a couple weeks ago at 17. It's a very scary thing even when she's just going to run a quick, local errand. I find myself pacing in front of a picture window until she returns and then I marvel at this little kid driving her mother's SUV. I guess it just takes some getting used to. Went through it with her sister. Part of the problem with us is our kids know everything.
As far as the learning to drive part. It was just too stressful on me and the Mrs., so we bit the bullet and used a driving school. They cover all the bases, in their car, and they know what the DMV folks will put them through in the driving test, which in NJ really just comes down to knowing how to parallel park. Funny story about that. We live on a culdesac so not much traffic and would let the younger ( Iknowitall so leave me alone) daughter go out and practice parking. I sat and watched for an hour as she got better and better at parallel parking....with the driver's side next to the curb. But she did a very good job of it.

Move to Vermont, less cars and traffic make it way less stressful.

I will be starting this with my daughter in the upcoming weeks....:shocked:

hide and turn off ALL the cell/smart phones!

Buckle UP!

Bring a stick to clench down on so you don't damage your dentures...haha

I feel your pain, I have twin boys who are 16, have their permits and are now driving. One of them thinks he is God's gift to motor sports, the other one is just inept.

I can literally feel my hair turning more gray every day.

Not being a parent, but one who dealt with the other end of things for thirty seven years I found most kids drove just fine. Basically they have been sitting behind you for the last sixteen years watch you and the wife drive. So based on that if your behavior behind the wheel wasn't that bad thiers wont be either. The common violations I would see every day:non relatives in the car before the junior driver could legally transport them, (especially coming from school, just cant turn down your friends), rolling stops, and going right on red where it is not allowed. Otherwise it wasn't too bad. If the car is registered in your childs name and the plate s randomly run on the cruisers mobile data terminal, his or her date of birth is going to popped up right away and its a dead giveaway about the driver's age if an officer sees four other kids in the car. Last I new that violation is a mandatory loss of license even if a clerk or a judge dismisses the citation.

Stay up until they come home and give them a hug and do a smell test test for alcohol or weed. Sometimes, just sometimes, a kid will get a head of steam going and think they answer to no one after they start driving, and will make a wrong decision that could effect them for a long time. My mother was up whenever I came home, regardless of the time of day, and although I didn't relaize it then it was a great way for her to keep track of things.

Take her to a parking lot when it snows.

Intentionally over and under steer and show them how to recover.

For some it seems to come naturally, others, not so much.

It'll have a two positive results. One, I suspect some new drivers will respect what it feels like to suddenly become a passenger in an out of control vehicle and two they might be able to avoid a situation in the future if and when it should ever happen.

A downside might be having too much confidence in slippery conditions in the future resulting in some goofing off but I feel like the positives outweigh the negatives.

Sort of along the same lines as driving conditions a new driver might not be used to, it is also important to point out things a driving ed instructor might not, but very important for a new driver to at least be aware of. Like routine maintenance, checking the antifreeze, wiper fluid, brake fluid, oil or knowing what to do if the oil light should come on, and tire pressure, how much to add if they're low, what gas to use, even, how to jump start a car if the battery is dead. I have made both my girls memorize recite back, the back of our insurance card where it tells you what you do if you get in an accident.
There are probably many simple or common sense things that the new driver could overlook but possibly with some pretty bad outcomes if they don't know how to deal with them.