Teaching a Learner Driver

[GT1533]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I’m not sold on driving instructors as a whole. With Australians’ tendency to game the system they too often teach people to pass a one-off test.

100% correct. Driving instructors will teach just what is necessary to pass the test which is 99% all about road rules. They teach nothing about driving SKILLS — car control, anticipation, risk awareness, etc.

This is also why you have so many people driving below the speed limit — it is what they are taught to pass the test.

[Burnout]

Another thing I did was flatten a tire..........
Told them to change it. ........ then supervised how they did that and made suggestions on how to improve how they did it.

[Ben]

Many new and not so new drivers are fixated on the car in front of them. Many accidents can be avoided some cant but the warning signs are usually there.

Things like difference between park lights and brake lights and issues cars might have like brake lights not working or stuck on. And not being to nervous to use the horn. Might stop an accident or let off some steam.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by GT1533

100% correct. Driving instructors will teach just what is necessary to pass the test which is 99% all about road rules. They teach nothing about driving SKILLS — car control, anticipation, risk awareness, etc.

This is also why you have so many people driving below the speed limit — it is what they are taught to pass the test.

I'm of the opposite opinion, in that parents tend to teach their offspring bad habits they have settled into.
In this day and age of OHandS laws, public liability and everyones over willingness to sue, I'm amazed it is still allowed.

[.:4:.]

Maybe, just maybe, before you get into teaching mode for your little lady, invest in 1 or 2 driving lessons first. 2 main reasons i suggest this is. 1 any initial oh **** moments, thats someone elses problem, and also, if for unfortunate reasons there is a fender bender, thats the driving instructors problem, not yours. So L platers are covered under the instructing drivers insurance, so whoever is licenced and sitting in the passengers seat, yet if your car for whatever reason is off the road, thats an inconvenience. If a driving instructors car is off the road, it doesn't affect yourself. Plus typically driving instructors have small cars.
Then before you take over, you can have the indepth talk about what have you been taught and guage it further from there. Potentially if your like myself and have been driving for long enough without brushing up on changes is laws (not that anyone follows them anyways) but stuff like indicating out of roundabouts and stuff that wasnt a thing back then, try not to teach bad habbits. Kind of like orange lights, technically they dont mean accelerate.

[zilo]

Use a driving school for the first few lessons.

-the learner can trash someone elses clutch/brakes/wheel alignment
-the learner is taught by someone that does the testing run daily and knows what to teach

[Rallye Sport]

I think the idea that you reach the age to start driving, a switch flicks and you're ready is flawed. I watched a friends young fella struggle with it, he just wasn't ready or interested but felt obliged as a right of passage.

Saying that, starting them young if they're that way inclined is a good thing.
We have a great bike park nearby with stop and giveway signs, solid whites, overtaking lanes even a little 'fuel' stop. From a really young age the kids are learning some basic road rules, manners and patience that they can apply to driving when they get older.

Our motorkhana club also runs a great program for kids from 12 years. Its run in a safe, non competitive environment with experienced club members at hand to help build skills and confidence. Every junior is clapped over the line and they meet afterwards to talk about and share they're experiences.

My niece has a couple of years to go yet, but has already been out there to watch her uncle so if she's ready and by the looks of it she can't wait, we'll be getting her started well before the conventional road legal age.

[DFB FGXR6]

Some great suggestions presented in this thread.

But the single most important question is, will she be learning in the XR8?

[danzvtil]

My daughter was learning in her mums civic. The first thing i did was get her to start the engine, put on the park brake and get out of the car.
These at the front are DRLs, note there are no lights on at the back of the car in this mode.
Turn on parkers-repeat.
Turn on head lights-repeat.
Do not be one of those drivers at night with only DRLs on.
I agree that parents shouldnt teach their kids, between me teaching her and her mum, we were advising her to do some things differently. After 9 months we are starting professional lessons.

[Adamz Ghia]

Really how you teach a kid to drive all comes down to the kid themselves. When I learned, my first drive was on the highway in peak hour, straight in the deep end and I loved it. Next day was the Great Ocean Road and I never looked back. My sister needed a bit more of the empty supermarket carpark treatment, my brother was more like me, just a little slower on the accelerator.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

Really how you teach a kid to drive all comes down to the kid themselves. When I learned, my first drive was on the highway in peak hour, straight in the deep end and I loved it. Next day was the Great Ocean Road and I never looked back. My sister needed a bit more of the empty supermarket carpark treatment, my brother was more like me, just a little slower on the accelerator.

Yes, I guess it depends on how much willingness the learner has for wanting to drive and how much previous private land driving experience they had.
Myself and cousin, started driving trucks and cars much earlier (13) due to my uncle owning a large truck yard in Ulladulla.

[slowsnake]

Got one thing to say here, generalisation let's say, what if the learner has parents that are not as " nice and concerned " about their kids, no money to hire a driving school, who teaches them, and where?...dont even own a family car, and your kids are going to be sharing the road with these kids?

It's nice to prepare your kids to grow into adults, but there is a lot of garbage on our roads, it's a scary place for adults, never mind young adults in the making.
Make sure what you teach is not all " sugar and spice and all things nice " and drinking and driving, ya gotta hammer it in, hard, not just them but others on the roads stoned and ****ed, so, don't sugar coat the driving experience!.....and again safe driving!


Cheers Billy.

[T3rminator]

Get the bf to teach her jk! Don't listen to me, I smashed two garage doors before I turned 16.

On a serious note, I reckon don't over complicate it with their first few lessons. They are keen just to get in the car and make it move. All the other stuff are important, but they can come later, otherwise you risk overwhelming them with too much info and make them more anxious. They won't be driving on their own for another 2 years anyhow.

I still remember my first lesson. Dad took me to an empty car park in the Mitsubishi magna, 2L torque monster. He plonked me on the drivers seat and told me "off you go". It was a manual, so I spent the first 30 mins bunny hopping. First couple of lessons was just to get the car moving, then stop, then U turn, and keep repeating. I didn't go out on public roads until I had professional lessons.

Good luck Fox!

[roKWiz]

[Pis-ton broke]

as a learning aid, it might be helpful to watch dash cam videos, and get the student to point out other peoples bad driving, and learn how to swear too.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIJFQWHepSA

[janddbone]

Originally Posted by Pis-ton broke

as a learning aid, it might be helpful to watch dash cam videos, and get the student to point out other peoples bad driving, and learn how to swear too.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIJFQWHepSA

A learning aid? This is prime time entertainment in my house! Ha ha.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by janddbone

A learning aid? This is prime time entertainment in my house! Ha ha.

Yes, certainly entertaining.

[mick taylor]

When I was 13yo I bought my first car and thrashed about the paddock cutting loose, best thing in the world in how to learn to drive then came the test and the roads well that was different thing again and I took such seriously as anyone could of, if one wants to learn they will, if not they will always be hopeless to average drivers regardless if they pass the test.

Teaching ? one is willing to listen or they are not but at the end of the day they can only learn the easy way or the hard way.

I just kept claim when teaching my children, don't start raving as that gets no one anywhere. you have to build up their confidence the best what that you can try to regardless of what you actually truly may feel.

[Pis-ton broke]

Originally Posted by janddbone

A learning aid? This is prime time entertainment in my house! Ha ha.

me too.

[Trevor 57]

Interesting, only one person who has been a driving instructor and so far my post has been ignored

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Interesting, only one person who has been a driving instructor and so far my post has been ignored

Well you know what they say about trade teachers.Those can,do.Those that can’t ,teach

[Trevor 57]

that's what 'they' say and generally its from people who can't make the grade as trade teachers

These are the Federal (Auditable) requirements for trainers (link below) - take particular note of bullet point 3 "have current industry skills directly relevant to the training and assessment being provided (Standard 1.13(b))" This is a particular focus for the ASQA Auditors

Meeting Trainer and Assessor Requirements


and tell me, what is the trade requirements around being a car driving instructor? Just curious

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by Trevor 57

Interesting, only one person who has been a driving instructor and so far my post has been ignored

Trevor you have got 4 thanks on your original post, that means 4 people took the time to read it, then thank you for posting it, you haven't been ignored mate, just too many folk posting?


Cheers Billy

[Trevor 57]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqGEU7p5NNA

[Trevor 57]

https://youtu.be/CVdzWoxZsG0

[tweeked]

Starting with formal lessons is definitely the right way to go. I will also end with some again, as he has become very confident (probably too much) and gets up to the limit and sits right on it, despite my badgering about "the Test" Someone else will be good to bring him back to earth.

I wonder about the smarts in the rule that Carplay and the like cannot be used buy new drivers. It sounds like a non-sensical response to "don't touch your phone".

I see it as a carrot to get them to do the right thing. I bought my youngest a 2004 E60 525i, not too much power, 10 airbags, stability control etc. To make it more palatable I put an android screen replacement for the factory screen. Its awesome, but he is not allowed to use it.

SO instead of something which automatically puts his phone on do not disturb as soon as he is in the car, with the same ease of use as using the radio in a car, the authorities think that telling teenagers to do the right thing is a smarter answer. Hopefully he will do the right thing.

[slowsnake]

One more little trick we used when we where on our P plates was to go to see a mate who had a week left on their P's and take their car keys?
We would get em to work and back etc, we figured that if they were going to do anything wrong it would be on the last week as a P plater?

And the local cops knew everyone and everything, if you had a few run ins you dident want em jumping on you on the last day of your 12 months of following the road rules?.....

True....


Cheers Billy

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by Burnout

Another thing I did was flatten a tire..........
Told them to change it. ........ then supervised how they did that and made suggestions on how to improve how they did it.

thats a very good lesson I can relate to back in our day/s......
We were also far more resourcefu/practical for if you didn't know how to get out of trouble you'd be there for hours/days/weeks waiting for some help lol....

Like Fox coincidentally my 16yr old daughter just got her L's as well.
She won't be changing any flat tyre that is for sure.
It will be, Dad or call the NRMA being all our cars are members.
Good luck Fox, enough info to work on, I've gone through my 2 eldest sons, 1st was a slow learner but has turned out a very good responsible careful driver.
2nd took it like a duck to water too damn confident and speeds too much for our liking but he's an adult not much we can do now, he'll learn the hardway possibly with fines possibly.
All 3 have come on alot of Club runs etc over their time, I've always pointed out about car issues, how to park etc and originally had them on my lap as young un's getting a feel of the wheel.
We did book a block of lessons for the first 2 for they provide good tips when the time comes being tested for their P's.
We will do the same with the daughter.
`

[mick taylor]

Originally Posted by Burnout

Another thing I did was flatten a tire..........
Told them to change it. ........ then supervised how they did that and made suggestions on how to improve how they did it.

I remember telling a dude about a bloke who pulled up outside a mental hospital and was changing a tyre, well in doing so he had lost the nuts as they had just rolled down a drain, oh no ! he said what will I do now ! a patient at the fence said, why don't you just pull one nut off the other 3 wheels and put them on that wheel.
Dude said why did I not think of that and how come you could come up with such a plain and the mental patient said, I am Mental, not @^&(#* stupid!

[mick taylor]

You can see what good drivers that the driving teachers make out on the roads everyday. lets just be thankful for that .