Teaching Your Teenager to Drive an Electric Vehicle Safely

By Isabella Storyclaire

last updated September 17, 2024

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Teaching Your Teen to Drive

The very idea of helping your children learn how to drive strikes fear into the hearts of many parents.Worries about putting a teen behind the wheel of one of the family's most expensive and dangerous possessions are real and tangible.

If you are embarking on the process of teaching your first teen to drive, or if you are trying for a first "successful" experience, then there are some things you should know about teaching your child to drive.

What to Know and What to Expect

As you begin the process of teaching your teen driver, you should be aware of the basic rules for success.

Be careful with directions.Give your teen lots of notice when you want him to do something. For example, rather than saying "Turn left now," try anticipating and say, "We will be turning left in the next block." Also, only use the word "right" for a direction. When your teen does something well, say he did it "correctly."
Be constantly aware.One of the hardest things about safe driving is being aware of your surroundings. That360-degree awareness is not a skill that teens have yet mastered. You will need to be the one who watches on all four sides of the car.
Correct by asking questions.Rather than saying things like, "You're going to get aspeeding ticketif you don't slow down," try aquestion-asking approach such as "What's the speed limit here?" Ask questions to teach your teen to beaware of the surroundings.
Let your teen take the initiative.Teens may be ready to drive as soon as they meet the age requirement, or they might not yet be mature enough or want the responsibility until they're older.Once you feel your child is ready, express that feeling and then wait for your teen to approach you. Don't push the issuean overly anxious teen driver can be a dangerous thing.
Plan ahead. When you start working behind the wheel, know ahead of time where you are going and what you are going to do. Let your teen know the area in which he will be driving and what skills you will be working on.
Remember you are the coach.Your role as a driver's parent is to coach your teen through the basics of driving. Avoid talking down to your teen or getting upset. Try not to generalize with comments like "You're too distracted." Be specific in what you want her to do.Praise good performance.
Set a good example.Follow good driving practices when you drive with your teen as a passenger. If you try to beat the yellow light or make abrupt lane changes, so will your teen.
Start off in daylight and good weather.As your teen is developing their driving skills, try to focus on daytime driving and when road conditions are good.
Start slow and build up.When you start outwith your teen, go to an empty parking lot and spend a lot of time starting, stopping, and turning. When the teen is comfortable there, move on to a quiet residential area with fewer cars. The next move is onto streets with heavier traffic.

The number of times you drive with your teen is more important than the amount of time in each session. In the beginning, limit your practice time to 15 to 20 minutes at a time. As your teen's confidence increases, you can extend practice times.

Essential Skills Teen Drivers Need Most

Here is a checklist of what you and adriver'seducation professional will need to emphasize during your teen's process of learning to drive.

The Vehicle Itself

Checking fluids
Cleaning the car
Dashboard warning lights
Fueling up
Mirrors
Seat belts and airbags
Tire inflation and inspection

Basic Operations

Avoiding distractions
Backing up
Braking
Controlling the car
Safe turns
Shifting gears
Signaling to other drivers

Interactions With Others

Dealing with intersections
Defensive driving skills
Maintaining safe driving distances
Making lane changes
Three-point turns
U-turns

Parking

90-degreeparking
Angle parking
Parallel parking

Advanced Skills

Driving in snow and/or wet conditions
Freeway driving
Night driving
Towing

Emergency Response

Changing a flat tire
Downed power lines nearby
High wind driving
In case of an accident

The 5 Stages of Learning to Drive

The following five stages of driver's education will help you figure out how to best help your teen develop good driving skills.

Stage 1: Learning About Your Vehicle

This stage involves a general orientation about how the vehicle works and what the driver needs to know about the car. Assign reading the manual as well as hands-on demonstrations. At the end of the stage, your teen should know how to:

Change a flat tire
Fasten seat belts
Fuel the vehicle,check the oil,andinflate the tires
React appropriately in case of an accident
Start and stop the engine
Turn on and off headlights and parking (or running) lights
Turn on and off and to adjust windshield wipers
Understand what the various lights on the dashboard mean

In each stage, your teen should be proficient at the skills being taught before moving on to the next stage. Each stage will likely take several behind-the-wheel experiences for your teen. Don't try to move too fast.

Stage 2: The Basic Skills

In this stage, theteen driverneeds to learn how to maneuver the vehicle and make it do what the driver wants. Most of these skills can be learned in an empty parking lot. At the end of this stage, your teen should be able to:

Back the car safely and straight
Make safe turns, both left and right, including signaling
Shift gears if using a manual transmission
Show awareness of his or her surroundings
Stop the car smoothly

Stage 3: Interacting With Other Drivers and Distractions

In this stage, your teen will be learning how to operate a vehicle safely with other drivers, parked cars, pedestrians, etc. in their environment. Most of these skills will require beginning on a residential street until comfortable and confident, then movingto a multilane street later during the stage.

At the end of this stage, your teen should be able to:

Drive courteously
Maintain a "safe cushion" around the vehicle when in traffic
Make a smooth and safe lane change
Navigate safely through an intersection, including those with signals, four-way stops, two-way stops, and uncontrolled intersections
Operate within posted speed limits and obeying traffic signs
Safely cross railroad tracks
Use mirrors and check blind spots

Stage 4: Parking and Other Turns

Driving is one thing, but parking can be quite another. There are probably more teen accidents associated with getting in and out of parking spots than from any other cause. Once again, an empty parking lot and a residential street are good places to learn this skill set.

At the end of this stage, your teen should be able to:

Make a safe three-point turn
Make a safe U-turn
Park safely on ahillfacinguphill and facing downhill
Safely parallel park
Safely pull into and out of a90-degreeparking space
Safely pull into and out of a diagonal parking space

Stage 5: Advanced Skills

The skills in this stage are essential, but they are advanced and rely on proficiency in other skills learned in the first four stages. Don't try to start on Stage 5 until you feel comfortable that your teen has the other skills well under control. At the end of stage 5, your teen should be able to:

Drive safely at night
Drive safely in ice, snow, and wet weather
Drive safely on the freeway, including merging, lane changes, and maintaining safe distances from other vehicles

Teaching Responsibility in Driving

Throughout teaching your teen to drive, discuss the responsibilities your child is assuming when she gets behind the wheel.

Car maintenance: If something sounds wrong, a warning light is on, or any problem develops, it should be checked and reported to you or taken to a repair garage.
Distracted driving: Whether or not the laws of your state are strict on texting or using the cell phone while driving, discuss this with your teen and set a good example yourself.
Financial responsibility: Have your teen assume some of the financial costs of driving, such as filling the tank, getting an oil change, or paying a share of the car insurance.
Following the laws: The rules of the road aren't just book learning for the driver's test, they should be understood and followed consistently. There may also be restrictions on learner's permits for the time of day, passengers, and whether accompanied by an adult.
Passenger safety: A driver is responsible for ensuring passengers are wearing seat belts and aren't risking injury (such as sticking their heads, arms, or legs out of the window or sunroof). Discuss what to do if passengers are fooling around and being distracting.
Pedestrian safety: Teach your teen the importance of using slow speeds in residential areas and school zones and of being aware of pedestrians who will be crossing the street.
Responsibility for other drivers: Not only should your teen drive courteously, teach what to do to report an accident, or give assistance to others who are in an accident.

A Word From Verywell

Teaching your teen to drive is a harrowing experience for some parents. But if you take the time to prepare, work on building skill by skill, and patiently work with your teenager, you can make a huge difference in your teen's driving, now and in the future.

Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our

editorial process

to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

By Wayne ParkerWayne's background in life coaching along with his work helping organizations to build family-friendly policies, gives him a unique perspective on fathering.

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Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

Battery-electric vehicles use battery packs to store energy and utilizes the electric motor to move the vehicle. These battery packs could last the lifespan of the vehicle, but there are many factors that could affect how long a battery lasts, according to FuelEconomy.gov and predictive modeling by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Most modern electric vehicle battery packs employ some form of lithium-ion chemistries, such as NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) or NCA (Nickel Cobalt Aluminum); these battery chemistries use more costly materials that offer greater driving range. Another lithium-ion chemistry, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), uses less costly materials that offer a moderate range with a longer cycle life.

Batteries and Temperature

EV battery packs include interconnected cells, hardware, and software to manage the batterys operation; this is referred to as the battery management system. Temperature control is important for batteries, as extreme temperatures can affect performance and shorten a batterys lifespan. Thermal management systems keep the batteries within the pack at an optimal temperature even in harsher environments but this can negatively affect your driving range since some of the batterys energy is used for thermal management instead of motor use.

Battery and Flooding

Batteries in hybrid and electric vehicles are highly corrosive and should not be exposed to standing water. Flooded vehicles lead to high-voltage shock hazards, which could lead to a fire. If your EV has been exposed to flood conditions and you suspect your battery is damaged, contact your dealer and/or emergency services.

Charging

Today, many electric vehicles have a driving range of around 300 miles on a full charge, while some have a driving range upwards of 400 miles on a single charge. When the batterys charge is low, the EV needs to plug into an electric power source to replenish the batterys charge this can occur at home, work, or any other public location along your route. However, not all vehicles and charging stations charge at the same rate. DC fast chargers can replenish your batterys charge in under an hour, while at-home chargers may take all night to recharge your battery.

Always follow the owners manual and the manufacturers instructions regarding charging safety protocols, maintenance requirements, and related operations.

Charging Resources

Before driving an EV, its important to familiarize yourself with charging stations their level of charging, plug type, and location. The U.S. Department of Transportation offers more information on electric vehicle charging speeds and plug types. Understanding EV chargers and knowing their locations along your route will help you plan when driving an electric vehicle. The U.S. Department of Energy offers more information on electric vehicle charging station locations.