2- Moving, Steering, & Stopping

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

Location: A large, level, mostly empty area.

Everyone in the vehicle must be properly buckled up.

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 when 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.

Lesson one – steps toward turning

Lesson two – hand-over-hand steering

An alternative to hand-to-hand steering is known as hand-over-hand steering. To use this method, grasp the steering wheel with your right hand between the 2 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions, and with your left hand between 9 o’clock and 10 o’clock. Use one hand to turn the wheel up and cross over the other hand, past the 12 o’clock position. The bottom hand then releases the wheel, passes across the forearm, and grips the wheel on the far side. That same hand, now on top, pulls the wheel up and over, past the 12 o’clock position and down. Repeat as necessary to complete the turn. To return to a straight-ahead position, reverse this process and return your hands to their starting positions.

Lesson three – turning techniques

• 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.