Teaching someone to drive. Any tips?

[king2005]

Joe use to drive a few years ago, but he was never taught how to drive properly or legally

We were talking about driving yesterday & I said have you ever thought of getting your G2 (it goes G1, G2 & then G here in Canada)? He said he's been thinking of it a lot lately. I said would you be willing to learn from me? BUT theres to be no crazy driving, as I know what you did to your old car. He said he'd love to learn from me & no, he wont be stupid, esp. in someone elses car. I said I'll teach you how to drive properly as long as you respect my car, as I do trust you. But when you get a car of your own, I want you to try to respect it a little better then your last one. As I'd like to , I don't know NOT go to your funeral... So he made a deal & said he'll grow up & be less stupid.

So on the way to Gio's place last night (middle of nowhere) I pulled off onto a dead street & said your turn!

Poor Joe was a bundle of nerves, I thought it was cute

Lets just say I don't know how that boy use to drive before, but my goodness left foot BAD! lol

He listens great so teaching him is easy.. But heres my problem...

I've never taught anyone how to drive before. I haven't even been driving for a year myself, so I want to make sure I'm going about this the right way.

I know this is great for his Self Confidence & he needs that right now pretty bad, after all the BS Dan put the poor guy through (I had to convince Joe to come home from his vacation, as he wanted to run away.. Dan caused that much hardship on Joe). I don't think I have ever felt him so happy before. I'm good at picking up vibes, I felt fear & happiness from him.

I am proud of him
Hes a good guy

So any tips would be awesome.

Oh no worries about my car Insurance, he's covered 100% under me.

I think the next time we go out driving, I'm gonna take a photo of him Then he can boost about learning how to drive, which out of ALL his friends, only Gio & Myself drive, & have cars.

[Catty1]

I don't know how much it costs - but how about you both sign up for Defensive Driving?

OR - tell Joe you need a refresher, and sign up for proper driver training. If you do this with him, he'll feel a lot better.

Maybe get the book on getting the G2 - here it is the Beginner's permit. And can you get the book of driving exercises that Joe would be tested on?

Sounds great - go, Joe!

[king2005]

I don't know how much it costs - but how about you both sign up for Defensive Driving?

OR - tell Joe you need a refresher, and sign up for proper driver training. If you do this with him, he'll feel a lot better.

Maybe get the book on getting the G2 - here it is the Beginner's permit. And can you get the book of driving exercises that Joe would be tested on?

Sounds great - go, Joe!

Neither of us have the money to take the driver ED classes.. I spent 600.00 on my first set of classes in driving. Thats just way out of the budget for both of us now.

I think I'll buy him the drivers book as a gift He loves reading & hes smart, so I know he'll remember stuff from the book.. once hes finished reading it, I'll read it as a refresher.

Thanks for that great idea

[Karen]

Find an office park that is closed on the weekend, but that has "streets" and stop signs, etc. Is your car a standard or an automatic? Have him practice three-point turns, have him practice parallel parking - even if there are no other cars around, you can snag a couple folding chairs to bring with you to set up as "practice cars" to park between.

Most of all, be patient. Try not to talk a lot, that gets distracting. When you are out of the streets for real, keep to side streets with very little traffic at first. Tell him when he does something well, not just when he screws up.

[Logan]

This may sound morbid, but cemetaries have lots of roads and no traffic. My dad taught me to drive a stick shift in a cemetary! Good luck with the lessons.

[king2005]

Find an office park that is closed on the weekend, but that has "streets" and stop signs, etc. Is your car a standard or an automatic? Have him practice three-point turns, have him practice parallel parking - even if there are no other cars around, you can snag a couple folding chairs to bring with you to set up as "practice cars" to park between.

Most of all, be patient. Try not to talk a lot, that gets distracting. When you are out of the streets for real, keep to side streets with very little traffic at first. Tell him when he does something well, not just when he screws up.

Malton is ummmm very Ghetto, so there isn't really any office builds close by. There is the mall, but thats suicide at night, my car will get trashed. I sooo hate Malton, I wish Joe would move out of there, so i don't have to keep going there to see him. Thats why I'm letting him drive on the road. I'm taking him North of Malton, as the traffic is really low there. When I pick him up to take him to my place I'll take him out after dark in my neighbourhood, as its nice & quiet at night, + there is visitors parking at my building, so he can practice safely there. But I want him to get driving down first, as I don't want to toss to much at him, as just driving is really stressful on him. He had Anxiety like me, so I know he needs to experience things at a slower pace right now.

My car is an Automatic.

I ignore the fact that hes driving most of the time. If he talks to me, I'll talk back, as thats how I learned & it made me feel more relaxed. I have no sterio in my car, so no worries about loud tunes, all you hear is the road :P

Hmmm... I'll have to say more positive things during the drive. I know I said a lot of good when he was finished driving & when he was driving for the 2ed time, Gio & I both said he did a good job

Gio cannot teach Joe to drive as Gio drives Standard & thats NOT a good mix for Joe. Hes a bundle of nerves as it is & I know he would have a panic attack, trying to drive a standard with Gio.. After hes good driving with me, then i'll hand him over to Gio to have some fun in a Standard & I'll talk to Gio so I can learn more as well.

I've let Gio drive my car before so I know hes a safe driver, so I can trust him in teaching Joe right

[Catlady711]

This may sound morbid, but cemetaries have lots of roads and no traffic. My dad taught me to drive a stick shift in a cemetary! Good luck with the lessons.

LOL and I thought my mom was the only person to use a cemetary for that purpose!

Mom always thought it was great, usually very little traffic or people walking around, lots of curves and turns and you can drive very slow without holding up traffic like on normal roads, plus no ditches!

[crow_noir]

The only advice i could think of is to keep a low quiet, but affirmative voice. Give all corrections in a slow monotone (not so slow you're doing "fake stupid", just boring lecture teacher.)

As others have said... make sure to praise when he does something well.

[king2005]

I let Joe drive yesterday as he asked. I said sure! We turned onto a street & he said, you seem really calm to be letting me drive. I said Ya well, Your not a bad driver, your only jerky. I do feel safe with you so why wouldn't I be calm?

I'm really watching like a hawk, but I'm not scared of his driving, because I can see he's trying really hard to drive really well & to show me he can do it right.

We're still have a few issues with getting the car going & to stop using his left leg. I have a trick I'm going to try to get him to do with his left leg, as I had the same issue when I started driving. I keep my left leg bent & close to my seat, so my foot is flat on the floor. I still drive like that most of the time, I don't when my leg is sore, but I don't have the left leg issue anymore, as I got out of that years go...

I have to go to the MTO (<- Canadian...USA-> DMV) today & I'm going to buy Joe a drivers handbook as a gift
I cannot afford it, but its worth it, as it'll help boost his confidence even more

You guys should see the big smile on him & the happy vibes I get from him everytime I hand him the keys
This is a kind of happiness that I have never seen from him, so I know it means the world to him to be driving my car

I need to remember to bring my camera with me more often, as I want to take a couple photos of him in the car

[Logan]

OK, Jess. Did you say he is using his left foot in an automatic? Why? Drivers training, at least what I know about, says to use the right foot only on the gas pedal and the brake. Of course, if there is a clutch, then the left foot gets put to work.

I took my 14 year old stepdaughter out on Sunday afternoon, at her request, to begin driving lessons. We found the biggest, emptiest parking lot in town and did a lot of moving the foot back and forth between gas and brake before I ever let her take the car out of drive! LOL! She requested that I teach her to drive, not her dad, not her mom, not her stepdad. I guess I appear to the calmest of the 4! She won't be eligible to have a permit until late April 2008, so we are getting a head start. But I will not be letting her drive on public roads at all.

Logan

[Edwina's Secretary]

Driving is a serious responsibility. Teaching someone to drive should be left to the professionals. Practice (off the road) is one thing...teaching is another.

[king2005]

OK, Jess. Did you say he is using his left foot in an automatic? Why? Drivers training, at least what I know about, says to use the right foot only on the gas pedal and the brake. Of course, if there is a clutch, then the left foot gets put to work.

I took my 14 year old stepdaughter out on Sunday afternoon, at her request, to begin driving lessons. We found the biggest, emptiest parking lot in town and did a lot of moving the foot back and forth between gas and brake before I ever let her take the car out of drive! LOL! She requested that I teach her to drive, not her dad, not her mom, not her stepdad. I guess I appear to the calmest of the 4! She won't be eligible to have a permit until late April 2008, so we are getting a head start. But I will not be letting her drive on public roads at all.

Logan

Joe has driven before & he had his own car. Only problem is that it was 99% illegal driving & no one taught him... He taught himself. He hasn't driven in a few years now, so breaking his habbits can easly be corrected.

This is why he came to me, becuase he knows I'll teach him properly & I wont get all crazy on him.

He knows the rules of the road fairly well & does stop properly, uses the turn signals & does the shoulder check 80% of the time. So hes not the best, but the areas we are driving have very little to no traffic. I refuse to let him drive where there is a lot of traffic until his jerkiness is gone & that left foot issue is resolved. I know hes trying really hard to break that habbit, as he tells me NO left leg when he uses it. Its cute how he corrects himself before I do hehe So he is learning.

I also think making him drive in a parking lot would do more damage to his confidence then anything. I don't think he'll hit another car or anything, he does the speed limit & doesn't come close to tailgating or anything else bad like that. Hes really good at his distances.

I know his jerkiness is caused by who he is & it'll more then likely always be there. I'm just hoping we can get it more under control, as I think driving with him for an hour or more, will make me car sick.

When I say jerkiness I don't mean hes all over the road, hes never left his lane & hasn't even come close to hitting a curb...Hes VERY hyper active (this is why he cannot put on weight & is a bag of bones.. hes about 6' & weighs 125lb)... He also has Anxiety like me, so he a bundle of nerves trying to be perfect.

When hes finished driving I let him know he did great. He brings up the left foot thing & the jerkiness & I just brush it off, as I don't want him to worry about it. I know he knows its incorrect & I see him changing, so there is no need to rub it in his face more... I tell him he should just be glad that instructors don't use tazers to correct driving errors He loved that comment... we laughed & joked about that hehe

[king2005]

Driving is a serious responsibility. Teaching someone to drive should be left to the professionals. Practice (off the road) is one thing...teaching is another.

You don't need a pro to teach you how to drive. I agree its the best option, but its also 600.00, & he cannot afford it & there is no law for it either. I don't want him giving up & going back to his old ways, or learning from one of his other friends (that would be BAD & he might not know it!!!).

[lizbud]

You don't need a pro to teach you how to drive. I agree its the best option, but its also 600.00, & he cannot afford it & there is no law for it either. I don't want him giving up & going back to his old ways, or learning from one of his other friends (that would be BAD & he might not know it!!!).

Do you know if your friend is covered by your car insurance? If, God forbid,
there is an accident while he's driving, be sure you are both covered.

[king2005]

Do you know if your friend is covered by your car insurance? If, God forbid,
there is an accident while he's driving, be sure you are both covered.

I have full coverage which includes 3rd party... I had to check when Chad got his G1. So all is well in that department