Coaching New Drivers Blog

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3 Steps to Keeping Your Driving Teen Safer

Sunday, October 18, 2020, kicked off this year’s National Teen Driver Safety Week hosted by Parachute. The aim of this year’s campaign focuses on speeding, impaired driving, and the dangers of railway tracks for your driving teen. You might be asking yourself, “so what can I do as a parent or guardian to help alleviate these risks from my teen driver”? First, bringing awareness to the topics is essential, next your teen needs to have the skills and education to make the correct decision while in the driver’s seat, and last, your teen requires a good example to follow. Driving Teen Statistics First, let’s take a look at some of the statistics to better understand the severity of the issues

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3 Tips to Ensure Your Teen is Not Distracted Driving

The month of October is the Distracted Driving Awareness month hosted by the National Safety Council. Typically, the awareness month is held in April, but due to COVID-19, it was postponed. This month is important but especially essential for you too, a parent of a newly driving teen. These numbers are dangerous, and we, as parents, need to ensure that we are educating our teens about the dangers and giving them the proper tools to avoid distracted driving. 38 percent of students who drove reported texting while driving on at least one day; 22 percent sometimes texted, and 16 percent frequently texted American Academy of Family Physicians Before you start educating your teen on distracted driving, let’s make sure we

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fall driving
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Fall Driving: 3 Factors to Teach Your Teen

The temperature is cooling, the air is getting crisp, and the leaves are beginning to change colors. As we move further into September, it is apparent that Autumn is upon many of us in North America. When the weather changes, the roads change too, and you need to ensure that your teen understands which changes will occur and that they can confidently deal fall driving. This week’s blog post will provide you with tips and tricks on getting your newly driving teen ready for the fall driving conditions. Previous Next Precipitation During fall, precipitation at night can cause slick roads, frosted windshields, and foggy conditions in the morning. It will be useful to show your teen first-hand what fall driving

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collisions with wildlife
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The Risk of Collisions with Wildlife

Collisions with wildlife can not only be damaging to your vehicle but can be fatal as well. It is important to ensure that your teen is educated on the signs and know what to do when wildlife appears on the road. In 2017, there were over 200 deaths from drivers getting into collisions with wildlife and even more injuries. (IIHS, 2019) Some states have a higher risk of wildlife collisions than others, with West Virginia having the highest risk and Hawaii having the lowest. Check out the table below for the top 5 states with the highest risk of vehicle and animal collisions. As a parent, what are the necessary things that you need to ensure that your teen knows

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park
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Tips for Teaching Your Teen to Park Confidently

For new drivers and even experienced drivers parking in different situations can become stressful and difficult. I know that for many, parallel parking is often avoided as it can be a bit more challenging to master. This week I felt it would be beneficial to share some tips and tricks as well as some great resources with you to help you teach your teen to confidently park in any situation! Angled Parking  Angled parking is where the parking spot is at about a 45-degree angle to the lane. This type of parking is common in cities across North America.  Use the following steps in assisting your teen: Have your teen locate a vacant parking spot and advise them to use

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impaired driving
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Impaired Driving: The Risks & Tips for Avoidance

In light of the long weekend that just passed in Canada, I felt that it would be great to dive deep into impaired driving. What is impaired driving? Impaired driving is driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The effect of drugs and alcohol while operating a motorized vehicle can lead to very serious consequences. It is important that your teen understands the risks associated with driving impaired and understands how it can be avoided.     Although the number of teens that drink and drive have decreased since the 1990’s, it is clear (from the statistics above) that driving impaired is still a pressing issue. So, what can be done? You can be the first step in helping

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driver inexperience
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Driver Inexperience: Leading Cause of Teen Collisions

Driver Inexperience Overview Every few weeks, I will be diving deep into one of the eight danger zones. This week I will discuss the dangers of driver inexperience and what you can do to ensure your teen is prepared to safely drive. Driver inexperience is the leading cause of collisions among novice drivers… but why are these statistics much higher than the other danger zones? Driver inexperience is common due to the lack of practice a novice driver has. In fact, one in two novice drivers will get into a collision within their first year of driving! Without ample training in various scenarios and conditions, drivers are not prepared to deal with these new situations on their own. 75% of

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driving school
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4 Tips to Find the Right Driving School/Instructor for Your Teen

In previous blogs, I have mentioned the importance of getting your teen to learn proper techniques with a professional, but how do you choose which driving school or instructor is right for your teen? Different instructors have different teaching styles, some of which may not be the right fit for your teen. Follow the next few steps to help you find an instructor that will match your teen’s needs! Do Your Research Your first step should be to do some research. There are a few ways to find driving schools and instructors in your area: Google search Driving School Association of the Americas website Ask friends or family for referrals Start to compile a list of schools that you would

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8 Danger Zones
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The 8 Danger Zones

Did you know that one in two teens will get into a vehicle collision within their first year of driving? Why is that? There are eight leading causes for teen collisions, which are also known as the 8 Danger Zones. As a parent of teen drivers, I understand how scary this sounds, but through education and practice, you can lower your teen’s risk of getting into a collision. Let’s take a further look into the 8 Danger Zones together. Danger Zone 1: Driver Inexperience Driver inexperience is the leading cause of novice driver collisions. New driving teens, especially those who lack ample practice time, will be unprepared when they face new situations that require faster reaction times. As a parent,

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driver's education program
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4 Reasons Why You Should Enrol Your Teen in a Driver’s Training Program

Before your teen goes to get their driver’s licence, they must get enough practice driving in different conditions (weather and road) and understand the rules of the road. A great way to assist you as a parent is to enroll your teen in a driver’s training program—there plenty of different programs that can cater to your teen’s needs. Aside from teaching your teen how to drive, why should you consider enrolling your teen into a program? Here are four main reasons as to why you should: Your teen will learn above and beyond the rules of the road Your teen will get to practice with a professional instructor Your teen can save on insurance premiums Your teen can reduce statistics

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