Driving Lessons – What Value Do You Place On Your Child’s Road Safety?

Learning to drive…. It’s not something we think about as parents when our children are growing up, until they turn 16 and there is a sudden rush to obtain a learner’s permit.

Why is it in society that when it comes to learning how to drive, we gravitate towards the quickest, cheapest option when it comes to having our child out on the road?

I was always taught, if it’s cheap then something must not be quite right!

Driving is a skill that is required for LIFE and yet the emphasis on professional driving lessons is seen no more than a requirement for young people to have in order to pass their driving test.

Everyday I hear reasons why parents choose the cheapest and quickest option around driving lessons, without looking at the bigger picture or thoroughly researching the options available to their child.

It astounds me that more parents don’t use due diligence when researching driving schools and choose a program designed to teach them more than just how to drive.. but how to survive on our roads!

• We spend a lot of our lives on the road driving
• Our cars all have the latest safety technology, but not all drivers have the same education level.
• Driving lessons are a critical part in the extension of our education.

As parents we spend money on providing our children with the best education we can throughout their primary school/secondary school years, however learning to drive in my opinion has little or no relevance as a consideration towards the extension of a young person’s education.

The driving instruction industry is full of those that will tell you how fabulous they are at having your young person pass their test first time guaranteed etc… Explain to me how this type of guarantee is worthwhile in the big scheme of things? Surely we need to be setting these kids up for a life time of safe driving practices, not just passing a test or  is that young person only learning what they need to know to pass the test.

As a professional driver trainer and previous licence tester, I am providing my professional opinion that learning to drive is the most important skill we learn in our lives.

• We need to VALUE our lives when it comes to driving.
• I do not believe in driving the same roads each and every lesson.
• I do not believe in the ‘suck it and see” attitude.

I believe that learning to drive requires preparation on the type of driver your young person wishes to be, working together, student, driver trainer and supervising driver.

Inspiring young drivers to be the best they can be through education when it comes to road safety and sharing our roads.

Empowering families and communities that education in learning to drive is paramount in long term sustainability of reduced deaths on our roads.

Our lives and the lives of the people around us matter when we use our roads.

We need to value who we are – BECAUSE LIFE MATTERS

Written by Melissa Kennedy, Driv’n 2 Success