BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Teaching a teen to drive can be a nightmare for the parent and student. Just ask professional driving teachers who have seen it all. Teens often confuse the gas pedal with the brake. Hit the curb on a right-hand turn. Veer into oncoming traffic on a left-hand turn. Miss stop signs.
"They want to floor a car approaching a traffic light or sometimes slow down even when it's green," says Carol Trendler, who for the past 17 years has watched students go through A-1 Safety Driving School in Pleasant Ridge, which she and her husband own.
Those driving teachers have a brake on their side.
Parents don't.
But like it or not, Ohio moms and dads, you'll be spending more time behind the wheel teaching your teens how to be safer commuters. Once they get their license, they'll be out in traffic going to and from school or after-school jobs. During summers and later in life, they'll join the rush hour commute.
So, this month, the state started requiring 16 and 17-year-olds to prove they've spent 50 hours behind the wheel with a parent or guardian before they get their licenses.
That's in addition to the driver's ed course.
Don't worry, though. Parents and teens can survive this without too many arguments.
MORE HELP
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Parents and teens can get "The Driving Challenge: Teaching Your Teen to Drive" lesson plan from the Ohio Insurance Institute Web site at www.ohioinsurance.org or by calling the Ohio Department of Public Safety at 1-800-462-2269 and the Ohio Insurance Institute at 614-228-1593.
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First, before even getting in the vehicle, driving instructors advise, make sure the teen knows the difference between the brake and the accelerator. And make sure they understand right-of-way laws, such as who goes first at a four-way stop sign.
It sounds simple, but driving instructors say they're common new-driver mistakes.
Now, once teens understand those two things, it's time to get behind a wheel.
But start in a secluded location.
Jack Ostrander says, "If you head out to Beechmont Avenue, there's going to be cursing and screaming." And he should know: the owner of Clermont Driving School's Anderson Township branch has been teaching teens to drive for eight years.
So, several Greater Cincinnati professional driver ed teachers suggest starting in a vacant parking lot and practicing the basics:
- Turning. Teach teens the little techniques we take for granted, says Tom Hauser, a veteran of 13 years at his Tom's Superior Driving School in West Chester. "Parents get in the car and it's been 20 years since they were new drivers," he says.
For example, tell them to hit the gas, let off of it when starting to make the turn and begin accelerating again. Also, tell them to use the yellow center line as a guide while making left-hand turns; use the curb as a guide for right-hand turns.
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Starting. Let teens get a feeling for how hard or soft they need to press the accelerator.
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Stopping. Help teens get a feeling for how long it takes to stop at certain speeds.
Once teens are comfortable with the basics, next go out to residential streets to practice. Tackle busier streets and freeways after that, driving instructors say.
Sounds simple on paper.
But don't expect perfection. And anticipate mistakes.
"It takes five years to become an experienced driver," Mr. Hauser says.
To avoid trouble, Mr. Ostrander suggests a parent in the passenger's seat should feel the same sensations they would if they were driving themselves.
At the same time, they should be watching the teen's body language.
"If they're going 40 mph and they're 40 feet from a stop sign, still on the gas and whistling, chances are they're not ready to stop," he says.
When something like that happens, don't yell and scream. Instead, calmly tell them what they need to correct.
"Try not to be overcritical," Ms. Trendler says.
"You really can destroy a kid's confidence if you're not patient," Mr. Ostrander adds.
And one more survival tip for parents teaching teens to be better commuters: Get ready to press on that passenger's side floorboard. It's a normal reaction.
Tanya Albert's "Commuting" column appears each Monday. E-mail her at tmalbert@enquirer.com
