First Month of Teen Driving With Learner's Permit

OK, not quite, bu it's almost been a month since my daughter got her driver's learning permit, or in our state it is referred to as an instructional permit. Officially, March 14 will be one full month of driving under her belt.

So, what has she accomplished?

We started off in a parking lot
We returned to a parking lot
We found a new parking lot
We returned to that parking lot a few times
We found another parking lot where she drove with her dad
We found another parking lot where she did parallel parking maneuvers and learning her parameters by pulling into and out of parking spaces
She drove slowly on the neighborhood streets with her dad
She drove slowly on the neighborhood streets with me.
She drove again on the neighborhood streets and parked successfully in the garage
We returned to a parking lot for more parallel parking maneuvers and parking spaces pulling into and out of
We did it again in a separate lot.
And, I believe again.
She drove around on the streets in the neighborhood behind us which has acreage between houses and lots of narrow streets. She then turned onto the small highway in front of our neighborhood and returned to our house.
Today - It's my turn with her on real streets - Even though she's doing well, wish me luck, and say a prayer that I stay calm! I am still a parent after all.

WHAT WE LEARNED

We discovered that the school lot near us is always filled with kids, people, buses or cars. I'm convinced these children are sleeping at this school.

We discovered that she is a careful, precise driver which didn't surprise us at all.

She has logged enough driving hours within the month's time to be able to drive to Michigan from our house.

Hopefully, this summer, she will actually drive to or from Michigan on the highway.

Time flies and goes way too fast!

Driving With a Learner's Permit - Week 1 and so far we are still alive

A full week and so far we are still alive and haven't had an accident or any other unwelcoming incident behind the wheel.

It's official! We completed a full week of driving with my daughter after receiving her learner's permit. In our state, it's referred to as an instructional permit before you are allowed the opportunity to pass the driver's test to receive an intermediate license on the GDL Graduated licensing for teens.


I picked this book up at the library, and it seems to be good so far. It's called Crash Proof Your Kids, and it's written by a race car driver.

I've also been following an online driver's ed instructional course I discovered.

WE ARE SO FAR STILL NOT OUT OF THE PARKING LOT YET - AND, I AM HAPPY TO LIVE WITH THIS STATUS!

That's fine with me. I would rather take it slowly and get it right than jump into traffic situations that could be a nightmare.

Day 1 - We began with an empty lot just to get the feel for the car.
Day 2 - My hubby took her to a quiet section of a nearby lot. She successfully parked and avoided the curb. When my hubby backed out, he hit the curb.

Part of this driving thing is eye-opening for us as to how we drive and our own idiosyncracies. For instance, from the time she got her permit, I thought it would be a good idea to have her ride up front in the passenger seat. This has taken some getting used to for me as I am used to having an empty seat next to me. Plus, it makes me very aware of my every driving move. While I have not hit a curb yet, I did pull into a parking space in a haphazard, embarrassing manner when we went to a jewelry store after driving practice.

Day 3 - We found a nearby church lot that not only has parking spaces, but a paved roadway that encircles the church simulating a real road.

Day 4 - I pointed out the warning lights on the dash and had her take a test I found online about what each light and dashboard gauge means. We returned to the church lot and practiced parking, backing out of spaces, and driving around. It's funny how 25 mph seems so turtle slow in a school zone when I'm driving, but 10 mph seems like we're flying around a curve in a parking lot with my new driver behind the wheel and me in the passenger seat.

Day 5 - My hubby took her to the church lot we discovered.

Day 6 - We went to a nearby KOC lot and practiced driving around the building, backing out of and pulling straight into parking spaces. My goal is to get her used to the feel of the size of the vehicle until she is comfortable with it.

Day 7 - Hubby showed her the engine, where the spare tire is, etc. Then, I took her to a nearby lot. I wanted to take her to a school that has large lanes for buses to park. I thought she could drive up and down them, but this school constantly has people there, like the teachers and students live there or something. There has to be a day or time of day when this isn't the case.

Instead, we went to the nearby college lot and practiced parking, backing, driving around inside the lanes.


So far, she has racked up about 3 1/2 hours of driving and almost got some nighttime practice as the sun was going down.

In our state, we need 40 hours behind the wheel instruction with a parent or driver's ed instructor before trying for the driver's license at age 16. She has about a year to get this done. We are way ahead of schedule.