Handing the car keys to your teenager goes against all your instincts for your child's safety; teach automobile safety.
I Am Old Enough
In very rural communities, some children drive family vehicles around the farm from the tender age of eleven or twelve; it is part of their life. Closer to, and within the cities, children depend on their parents, busses, and older friends to get around. But at the age of 16 when a child teeters between puberty and adulthood, most teens feel they need to drive in public for the appearance of independence. Your teenager has been waiting his or her whole life to drive!
Safety...
You know that their whole life as they see it, is only a fraction of their life and you want him or her to be safe enough to live the rest of it. Handing the car keys to a teenager goes against almost all instincts a parent has for their child's safety. Ease your anxiety somewhat by making sure your teenager knows the following things.
How to read a map:
Make them familiar with sites and city names surrounding your area
Designate a no-go area where you know traffic gets too congested or dangerous even to the experienced driver
Make sure they know how to read signs that were not part of their driving lessons
How to change a tire:
Emphasize balance
Emphasize tight lug nuts
Show them how to check pressure and add air also
How to check and replace the car fluids:
Oil: the dipstick shows the level and the amount needed
Radiator: (very dangerous! the car must be cooled down for at least an hour) fill with water in emergencies and then a service station can correct the mixture with antifreeze
Brake fluid: the container is more or less a box and the fill level is shown
Transmission fluid: check while car is in parking gear and engine running; replace the right amount when the engine is turned off.
Window washer: the safest to replace but a necessity
Where these safety switches are in the car they will drive, (different makes and models have different layouts):
Light switches
Windshield wipers
Emergency brakes
Door locks and window buttons
Other items you may want them to have
Give them a road service card.
Make sure they have emergency money or have some in the car always.
A personal or prepaid cell phone to be used in emergencies only
Most states require a driving class with so many hours of on the road driving before any teenager can acquire a driving permit. But making sure your teen knows all the rules and regulations of driving doesn't seem to be enough to ensure his or her safety on the road. It isn't. However, the example you set while driving may be.
Always pay attention to the road and the vehicles on it. A car that is far ahead may not look like it is stopped, but one glance to change the radio station might be quick enough to come up on it and crash.
Teach your teen to think on what they are doing in the now. Worrying about being late for a date then trying to drive faster to get there might just make them a whole lot later because of a ticket or an accident.
Keep the noise at a minimum. Concentrating on driving is hard when the radio is blasting and passengers are talking loudly.
Road rage can be a killer, especially if one bad temper clashes with another.
Brake slowly in bad weather. Just like running in your socks and trying to stop on a newly waxed kitchen floor, your car also slides on ice, wet leaves and water.