Be Nice to Student Drivers

My daughter is sixteen, and we finally found time to get her learner’s permit. She’s had it for about a month now, and she vacillates between driving very slowly and cautiously, to tearing around corners. You have not experienced true fear until you’ve been in the car with your child behind the wheel. There’s nothing like reflexively pressing your foot down on an imaginary brake from the passenger side. What makes it even worse is that I can’t actually say anything while she’s driving because I don’t want to freak her out. Other drivers already do that when they honk at her.

I have to admit, she’s a much better driver than I thought she was going to be. There is noticeable improvement each time she drives me somewhere. Now that I think about it, it might be scarier once she gets her license and drives off on her own. Then I’ll just sit there with my over active imagination…

Next time you’re driving and you see a car going slower than the speed limit, rather than tailgating and honking, just remind yourself that it could be a student driver and be patient. You never know, you may find yourself in the passenger seat one day with a white-knuckled grip on the armrest.

Have you ever ridden with a student driver? What was your experience?