Page 27 - AAA Every Day – AAA Hudson Valley – March/April 2020

Driver Education:
A Journey, Not a Race
Growing up, most of us were counting down the 18 with no driver’s education, practice hours or waiting
days to get behind the wheel and experience
the independence in driving. Our children’s desire and readiness for college and/or employment often leads to rushing the process. Much like SAT prep, people teach only to pass the driver’s test and then move on, but we all should question whether this approach is working.
Teenage drivers continue to have the highest crash rate. Historically based on miles driven, teen drivers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers. You might even cringe when you think back to your early days. Luckily, we gain experience and better judgement over the years.
Let’s look at New York’s driver education system.
You have to be a minimum of 16 years old to get a learners permit. If you are under 18, you must follow the Graduated Driver License rules for your region of the state. GDL rules are definitely needed. The majority of U.S. states, and many other countries, require 20+ hours of professional instruction, surprisingly, N.Y. does not. That being said, professional driving lessons, in addition to time spent practicing with a parent or guardian, is recommended. It’s important to provide more than just road test preparation. The additional hours of required training should include highway, city and rural roadways, under a variety of traffic conditions.
For those of us who think it’s too easy to get a license, take a look at the even simpler system for people who wait until age 18. All GDL rules go away for those over
period required. New York allows new drivers 18 and older to get through the entire process in just a few weeks. Even if your new driver is 18 or older, driver education is still necessary.
Regardless of state requirements, we can go above and beyond to make improvements one family, and one driver, at a time. Professional lessons are a plus, but hours of practice with a licensed driver is the most important. Practice behind the wheel should include varied scenarios and include night and inclement weather driving. Outside of the car, a large number of web resources and videos can supplement the learning process. Don’t wait until
a teen needs to drive. Start educating your new drivers early so you can have additional time at the learner’s permit stage. This will lead to many more hours of supervised driving.
Check out page 6 for information on our Dare to Prepare Parent-Teen Workshop in April. More GDL info is available at NYS DMV’s website at dmv.ny.gov
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
AAA Keys2Drive – The Guide to Teen Driver Safety:
teendriving.aaa.com
NYS Department of Motor Vehicle: dmv.ny.gov
NYS Governors Traffic Safety Committee –
Younger Driver Toolkit: trafficsafety.ny.gov
National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration: NHTSA.gov
Mike Sweeney is a Traffic Safety Educator at AAA Hudson Valley.
MAR/APR 2020
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SAFETY ZONE
Photo: Shutterstock: Motorion_Films