Goal: Teach your teen to consistently start, stop, and turn smoothly with full vehicle control.

Location: A large, level, mostly empty area.

☐ Skill one – moving and stopping

Michigan law requires that all front-seat passengers be buckled up, and passengers younger than age 16 must be buckled up in all seating positions (front or back seat).

Before starting, coach your teen to always signal and check mirrors and blind spots before changing the speed, position, or direction of the car. Remind them as needed.

Have your teen drive around the perimeter of the lot several times at a slow speed. Have them stop and start frequently, practicing smooth hand-to-hand steering, braking, and accelerating.

Pick several targets in the large, level, empty practice area, and have your teen drive to them at specific speeds. For example, “Drive to the stop sign at 15 mph.” Focus on steady speed and smooth starts and stops.

Once your teen is braking smoothly, practice “hard, smooth stops” at slightly higher speeds (approximately 25–30 mph). Hint: Curling toes back just before braking results in smoother stops. It eases the pressure on the brake.

☐ Skill two – steering

Hand-To-Hand Steering Method: Your teen may have been introduced to other methods of steering such as; one-hand steering, hand-over-hand steering or evasive action steering, to name a few. However the Hand-to-Hand steering technique is the preferred method to use in most driving situations.

☐ Skill three – turning techniques

With hand-to-hand steering your hands don’t cross each other.

• Ease off the accelerator or use the brake to reduce speed before entering a curve; use gentle acceleration to overcome inertia and pull the vehicle out of the curve.
• Use smooth, continuous steering wheel movements when approaching a turn and when returning (sliding) the wheel through the hands until the vehicle is in the proper post-turn position.
• Coach your teen to pick a target near the center of the intended travel path. This target can be used as a visual aid to aim at while steering through turns.