The pro’s guide on getting your teen ready to drive.
Teaching your kid to drive is, in a word, stressful — for parents and teens alike. It’s a huge responsibility with lives and property on the line. Accidents can and do happen, so safety is paramount. Learning to drive is also a monumental rite of passage for your teen that may feel both thrilling and poignant. Once your child drives, you both have more freedom, but this also means less time together and reliance on you. Roll all this together, and it’s no wonder that tensions can run high.
Here are tips for making this journey a little less bumpy.
Check Your Driving Habits
Your child is watching, so aim to model positive driving skills. This means, for example, following speed limits, using turn signals, stopping at stop signs and allowing enough space between vehicles. If you text and drive or yell at other drivers, your child probably will as well. Model letting other drivers merge, making room for bikers and stopping for pedestrians.
Encourage Active Observing
Don’t have to wait until your child turns 15 to begin this process. Familiarize them with the basics of driving while they’re passengers. Narrate what you are doing as you drive, from turning on the car to how to reverse or park. Cover basics like adjusting mirrors, checking your surroundings, putting your cell phone away, and putting on your seatbelt. As you drive, tell them what you are doing and why. Have them be your navigator to help them get a sense of how directions work and the basic routes they will drive.
Learn the Rules
Get a copy of the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) driving booklet. Many rules are relatively obscure and may not seem relevant. However, all are important to know — and they may encounter them on their driver’s permit test. Pro tip: You can also have your teen do online practice tests to test their knowledge (tests are also available in Spanish).
Take a Permit Test
Once they are regularly passing practice tests, they are ready to take their permit test, which can be done online or at a DMV office. Pro tip: If testing in person, make an appointment online to save on wait time. You can do a walk-in appointment, but be prepared to wait. The knowledge test costs $7. The fee for the actual instruction permit is $30.
Be Patient
Many kids fail their first permit test and need to repeat — and that’s OK! The test is harder than many kids expect, particularly as some rules can be challenging to understand unless you already know them.
Practice Driving
Practice a lot! Start slow and in an uncrowded area. Learning to drive may feel scary or intimidating. Pick a time when both of you are relaxed. Expect a jolty or halting ride at first. Respond calmly and encouragingly. Avoid having anyone else in the car or any other distractions. Empty parking lots or quiet roads are ideal. Balance giving your child feedback and directions with letting them figure out what to do. Initially, try short sessions to build up skills and confidence before taking longer trips.
Consider a Driving Program
If outsourcing your child’s learn-to-drive process is helpful for them (and you!), driving programs are a good option. Group and private driving lessons are available. The biggest advantage is that a trained adult will teach your child all the skills they need. Also, with some programs, successful completion qualifies them for a license, so they won’t need to test at the DMV. However, these popular programs can be expensive and hard to access at your preferred time and location.
Some ODOT-approved programs in the area include 1st Learn to Drive, Horizon Driver Education, Pacific Driver Education, and Westside Driving School. Some school districts also offer lessons, including David Douglas and Tigard-Tualatin. Prices vary by the provider and services selected. Private lessons range between $100 and $225 or more, and comprehensive packages start around $550 to $865 on up.
Take the Driver’s Test
The last step is to schedule and pass a driving test. This can be done with approved private companies or at certain DMV offices. Once they pass, your teen will get their photo taken and a temporary license. The official license will arrive in the mail in a few weeks. The driver’s test costs $45. (Those who complete an approved driving course do not need to test at the DMV.) The ODOT fee for the license is $64; add $30 for a Real ID, which is needed for air travel (without having to bring a passport).
Review Expectations
They did it! You did it! You now have a teen driver. After celebrating go over ground rules: when they can use the car, who pays for gas, and what happens if they break any driving rules. Review guidelines around cell phone use and the prohibition on driving non-family members for the first six months (this means not driving their friends at first). Consider tracking your child’s location on their cell phone or on another app, some of which even tell you how fast your child is driving.