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Every parent wants to see his or her children get ahead in life, and although learning to drive is something that can be done later on in life, like anything it is much easier to pick up when/if taught at a young age.
Teaching your child to drive and seeing them pass their driving test with flying colours is a huge step towards independence, but you want to ensure that when they do hit the road that they are as safe as possible. When teens hit the legal driving age, one of the biggest concerns as a parent is car safety, which is why it’s worth considering whether or not your youngsters could benefit from driving lessons before the age of 17.
Driving Experiences For Under 17s
Practice makes perfect, and although UK roads are hard to manage in terms of complete safety, the more experience you have with driving the better equipped you will be to keep safe on the road. Providing teens and youngsters with an experience behind the wheel before they can actually apply for their provisional licence, allows them to get a head start, and fit in more practice before hitting the road for real.
It can also allow them disburse their adrenaline, and of course, increase their driving confidence.
Those that offer such driving experience for the under 17s do so in a safe and controlled environment, away from any public highways. With instructors’ to-hand and fun ways to learn, youngsters are able to improve their driving skills and get to enhance their vehicle control.
Meet Those That Have Done It
Many children, some as young as 11, have been enrolled in driving lessons with specialists with great results.
Meet Jack Bassford for example. At the age of 15, Bassford has already mastered the basics of driving a vehicle. He says, “If I keep coming and practising, then in two years’ time when I’m old enough to drive, I’ll be used to getting in the car and driving.”
Another youngster, who happens to be on the same course as Jack said, “I’m 12 and too small to see over the wheel but I use a cushion. It’s great and it will make me a better driver.”
Meet Those Against It
But like anything innovative and new, there are a few concerned for the youngsters and the risk factor that driving lessons for under 17s holds.
Inspector Alan Jones, from the Police Federation of England and Wales said, “Driving on one of these courses at 11 years old, it’s another six years until you can get a driving licence. How dies it replicate the real world, the spontaneous incidents? Are kids mature enough at 11, 12, 13 years old to understand what’s happening on the roads, to be able to manage all the demands and pressures? I’m not persuaded it’s a good idea.”
And he’s not alone. A group member of The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents agreed with Mr Jones, saying, “It will probably mean youngsters will take fewer lessons when they come to learn to drive and if they take fewer lessons they will get less experience. That means when they pass their test they may be at greater risk.”
What Would You Do?
There are pro’s and con’s to everything in life, but what would you do? Would you let your youngster attend driving lessons at a young age or would you make them wait it out? Use the comments section below to have your say!
