5- Driving on a Quiet Street
Driving on a quiet street – part one
Goal: Teach your teen to move and stop a vehicle safely and with confidence on quiet roads.
Location: Start in a large, level, mostly empty area. Move to a quiet neighborhood street when indicated. Please do not use DMV skills test routes for practice.
Before moving out onto the road, make sure that your teen has reviewed the driver’s manual and is familiar with street signs, signals, pavement markings, and right-of-way and speed laws.
Skill review
Starting in a quiet, large, level, empty area, review the skills learned so far. Have your teen drive several laps around the lot, practicing smooth braking and accelerating, maintaining steady speeds, steering into right and left turns, and using reference points to align the car with curbs (or lines).
Lesson one – commentary driving
Coach your teen to use “commentary driving” (see sidebar on page 2) throughout this lesson, if possible.
Lesson two – lane position
When you and your teen feel ready, move to a quiet street.
With your teen behind the wheel, first have them practice driving straight in three different lane positions. Do this for several miles, practicing each position at least 10 times:
Most driving is done in lane position number one.
Center position ➊: The most common position, with the vehicle centered within the lane. Coach your teen that they should stay in the center position under most circumstances.
Left position ➋: The vehicle positioned to the left side of the lane. This is best used when approaching parked vehicles and potential hazards on the right as when going by bicycles and pedestrians (if no oncoming traffic). It should be avoided on a hill or a curve.
Right position ➌: The vehicle positioned to the right side of the lane. This is usually done when making a right turn to allow for a safety margin on the left side of the vehicle.
Lesson three – intersections
Coach your teen on these techniques for safely approaching an intersection:
- Search for vehicles, pedestrians, signs and traffic signals.
- Check the rearview mirror for any potential hazards behind the car.
- If turning, put on the turn signal four seconds before making the turn.
- If a stop is required, stop before the front bumper crosses the stop line. When a stop line is placed back farther than what is normally expected, you should stop behind the line for any large truck to make the turn into your side street, before you creep up for better visibility. If there is no line, stop behind the crosswalk. If there is no crosswalk, stop behind the sidewalk, and if there is no sidewalk, stop before the curb line or edge of the roadway.
- After making a complete legal stop, you may creep up for better visibility.
- Select the best lane for travel by reading signs and pavement markings.
- Yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and other vehicles.
Emergency vehicles
Driving on a quiet street – part two
Goal: Teach your teen to turn both right and left safely and with confidence on quiet roads.
Location: A quiet block of single-lane roads, ideally without traffic signals at the intersections.
Lesson one – right turns
When your teen is comfortable with lane positions and intersections, it’s time to practice turns.
Start with right turns. Have your teen drive clockwise around the block until proficient:
- Always check mirrors before turning and signal 4 seconds before the intersection.
- Search the intersection in all directions for vehicles, pedestrians, signs, and signals.
- Position the vehicle 2-3 feet from the edge of the roadway (lane position 1).
- If there is a stop sign or red light, stop with wheels pointed straight and make sure to stop before the stop line, crosswalk, or sidewalk, whichever is first.
- Clear the front reference point in the right front passenger window before starting the right turn.
- Focus on smooth braking into the turn and smooth acceleration out of the turn, as previously practiced in the large, empty area.
- Pick a target at the center of the intended travel path at least 12 seconds ahead while steering through the turn.
Lesson two – left turns
When your teen is proficient at right turns, move on to left turns. Have your teen drive counterclockwise around the block until proficient, coaching them on these techniques for safe left turns:
- Always check mirrors before turning and signal 4 seconds before the intersection.
- Search the intersection in all directions for vehicles, pedestrians, signs, and signals.
- Position the vehicle in lane position two (close to the yellow lines).
- If there is a stop sign or red light, stop with wheels pointed straight ahead before the front of the vehicle reaches the stop line, crosswalk or intersection.
- Select a gap in traffic and pull straight forward toward the center of the intersection. Coach your teen to avoid hesitating.
- Use the double solid yellow line on the street being turned onto as the front reference point to clear in the driver’s side window. Start turning/pivoting around the yellow lines onto the side street.
- Focus on smooth braking into the turn and smooth acceleration out of the turn, as previously practiced in the large, level, empty area.
- Pick a target at the center of the intended travel path at least 12 seconds ahead while steering through the turn.
Be sure to practice with your teen in a variety of conditions, including at night and in inclement weather, as much as possible.
Have your teen drive around the block making right turns. When they are proficient, drive around the block making left turns until they are proficient.