Teen Drivers & Driver's Ed: Should They Wait or Get more Training

My former mother-in-law is famously quoted as saying:

There is no reciprocity. Men love women, women love children, children love hamsters.

What most do not know is that she usually would go on to add "And hamsters don't love anybody."

I am thinking of this because my daughter, a full on 14 year old, a girl version of Legolas, recently announced to me that she doesn't want to drive until she is at least 18. This was a surprise for several reasons. First, her mother is Miss Mota Mouth. Second, she reads car magazines like most girls her age read Seventeen Magazine. Third, her mother is Miss Mota Mouth.

Could it be that my passion had only partially passed down to my offspring? The history, the enthusiasm, the innovation- everything that she is able to discuss is just because one day she will be really great playing Trivial Pursuit?

Serendipity arrived in the form of an invitation to attend a Driving Skills for Life event hosted by the Ford Fund. What an opportunity! We went to Chicago and upon arriving at the parking lot/ training area, L'il Miss Mota Mouth started shaking uncontrollably. As she watched the driving instructors guide local high school students through skid control techniques, I watched my daughter completely melt in fear. The realization hit: Momma loves daughter, daughter loves cars, cars do not love anybody. They look pretty in pictures but are big scary beasts to a 98 pound young adult.

Because she is not permitted I was going to be the driver while L'il Miss Mota Mouth rode and filmed. Fortunately the first two courses that I did were not skid control so even though I took out a few cones while doing obstacle aversion, by the time that we got to the modified sliding Mustangs, she was completely at ease. The other participants, mostly high school students who had qualified to attend because of their support of Ford's programs to increase driver safety in Illinois schools, were doing fantastic driving. The driving instructors, all professional racing coaches, guided all of us through every step and answered questions joyfully.

Here is the interesting thing though: according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles the number of kids getting their licenses at 16 has dropped by 20%. The number of kids taking driver's ed classes in their schools has dropped even more. Many kids are just waiting to drive when they do not have to attend a driver's ed class of any kind and can just get a license at 18. I think that scares me more than the thought of 16 year olds behind the wheel because unexperienced and untrained drivers at any age are a concern.

In the end, L'il Miss Mota Mouth understood why even though she may not want the responsibility of being a young driver, she does need to learn to start building her skills (including response time that has apparently dulled in her mother's years). By working with schools, communities and students, Ford's program is bringing back the importance of driving safety among teens because they know that parents are talking more about sex and drugs with their teens than they are about safe driving.

Mother loves daughter. Daughter loves cars. Cars love nobody but the 98 pound kid will learn to own her driving skills.

More information about Ford's Driving Skills for Life.

Watch this space! Even more to come about this event, the topic of teen driving and my time with Ford safety executives including a video of me driving in a skid course.

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