Any parent of a teen beginning their driving career will have the stomach-wrenching feeling of dread every time they venture out on their own once passing the driving test. Statistics show that young drivers do cause the most harm to the roads. Still, some steps can be taken to help avoid many of these needless accidents, from further advanced and defensive training to looking at Black Box insurance policies that help to keep some of the most reckless activities to a minimum, such as speeding and harsh acceleration.

It is never too early to start advanced and defensive driver training. No matter how great the driving school or instructor may have been who helped your teen pass the driving test, they only helped them pass a test! They were not taught the overall skills of perfect driving, which come with lots of practice and further driver training.

Learner drivers are not taught to the same degree as advanced drivers, and the UK ranks 16th for how hard a driving test is to pass compared to the rest of the world, which may be surprising. Many countries such as Germany, Denmark and Finland are very stringent with driving tests, and even first aid theory and skid pan training can be compulsory when learning to drive. When considering this, it is no wonder that the UK is below par with younger driver safety, so it is up to us to keep ourselves and our families as safe as possible on the roads.

Since 2018, learner drivers have been allowed on motorways, but it has yet to become compulsory for driving tests, the main reason being that it is too stressful to do during a test and not all areas have a nearby motorway. Common sense would argue that this should be practised until it is not stressful and become part of driving lessons and tests, especially with the new regulations of Smart Motorways, because discussing just theory is not good enough as even the most experienced drivers can be confused with new Smart motorway regulations.

Discussing further advanced and defensive training with your newly qualified teen may be difficult, especially if it has not been discussed before they passed the driving test, as the argument will be, “But I passed my driving test, so I’m fine to drive”, but this will not stop the fear of most parents.

Here is an account from a previous customer:

“As a parent who has been through this myself, my own experience was that my son was perfectly safe when I went out with him when he first passed his test, but within a few months, he was very overconfident, and I felt unsafe with him as a passenger. He was motoring up to red traffic lights, accelerating very harshly, and his Black Box was pinging all the time. I was expecting an accident at any moment due to his lack of consequence, so I put him on an advanced driving course. Initially, he was against it, using the excuses of “I’ve not had an accident” and “I’ve passed my test”. I needed him to understand that this was not a punishment but an added skill, which an advanced driving course is, and it can be something that can be added to a CV. I explained that it was to further his skills and was very different to taking driving lessons. If he enjoyed the higher level of driving skills, he could go on to take an advanced motorist test in the future, which may help to bring insurance premiums down. During the course, he learned many things he was not taught while taking driving lessons, and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Now, I never feel the dread of the past, and whenever he is off with his friends, it is mostly him who drives, and I feel happier with that, so as a parent, I could not recommend them enough.”

Initiating a discussion about further training with your teen before they pass the driving test can make it easier for them to accept an Advanced course. This approach can significantly enhance their driving skills, as they still have a better memory of the Highway code than a driver taking a course years after passing the test. An advanced driver tutor, with skills comparable to those used by the police and paramedics, will be far more skilled than a regular driving instructor.

We are never going to make the roads and motorways safe for everyone but we can equip our teens with the best possible chance to help avoid any issues they may come across with a better understanding of forward planning and observations, speed awareness, and car control. All this comes with practice but can be greatly helped along with further training from the start.

Read more about our younger advanced driver training here.