Like all parents with a teen approaching the legal driving age, I worry about my son exercising his “right to drive”. He’ll be sixteen in a few short months and in BC that’s the magic age for acquiring a learner’s permit—and he can’t wait.
We’ve agreed that he’ll take professional driving lessons rather than undergo dad’s “ways and means” of driving instruction. I can’t say that I’ve always modeled the best driving behaviour over the years, as such my credibility as an instructor is in question. Motor vehicle related incidents kill more teens than all other causes of teen death combined, so the finest instruction irrespective of cost is justified.
I wonder though, what is the “finest instruction” you can provide a new driver—especially a young male with more bravado than brains? Is it a tough love, such as a trip to the O.R. to see the blood and guts of a crash, or better yet, the morgue? I don’t know, perhaps that’d trigger a post traumatic stress disorder and I’d be saddled with driving him around until my golden years crumble to dust.
At present, I’m of the mind that enrolment in a performance-driving course will pay dividends. Such courses emphasize safety while teaching students how to maintain control of a vehicle in situations that would have a less skilled driver in a complete panic, and on the way to becoming another sad statistic.
The flip side to a performance-driving course is the concern that it may encourage aggressive driving. I’m not sure if that would be the case but I think of it this way: I would rather fly with a cocky pilot that understands the capabilities and limitations of his machine than fly with a conservative pilot that’s never pushed the boundaries of his aircraft.
Performance-driving it’ll be my boy.
We’ve agreed that he’ll take professional driving lessons rather than undergo dad’s “ways and means” of driving instruction. I can’t say that I’ve always modeled the best driving behaviour over the years, as such my credibility as an instructor is in question. Motor vehicle related incidents kill more teens than all other causes of teen death combined, so the finest instruction irrespective of cost is justified.
I wonder though, what is the “finest instruction” you can provide a new driver—especially a young male with more bravado than brains? Is it a tough love, such as a trip to the O.R. to see the blood and guts of a crash, or better yet, the morgue? I don’t know, perhaps that’d trigger a post traumatic stress disorder and I’d be saddled with driving him around until my golden years crumble to dust.
At present, I’m of the mind that enrolment in a performance-driving course will pay dividends. Such courses emphasize safety while teaching students how to maintain control of a vehicle in situations that would have a less skilled driver in a complete panic, and on the way to becoming another sad statistic.
The flip side to a performance-driving course is the concern that it may encourage aggressive driving. I’m not sure if that would be the case but I think of it this way: I would rather fly with a cocky pilot that understands the capabilities and limitations of his machine than fly with a conservative pilot that’s never pushed the boundaries of his aircraft.
Performance-driving it’ll be my boy.