Practice is an important element in the driver training process. A student that goes through training with very little practice simply cannot develop their skills. They can potentially pass the driving test at the MVD, but they would not be considered “safe” drivers by any stretch of the imagination. Developing driving skills is no different than developing any other skill. If your daughter is a ballerina, she puts hours of practice in to become a better dancer. If your son plays LaCrosse, he puts hours of practice in to become a better player. Driving is no different. A student must practice what they are learning or they don’t develop skills.

I am still baffled by the fact that parents will move heaven and earth to get their kids to sports practice so that they are ready for the game, or to dance practice so they are ready for the recital, or to drama practice so they are ready for the play, but when it comes to driving practice “we just haven’t had time” is an acceptable excuse. I cannot repeat this message enough, IF you want your teenager to develop the necessary skills to navigate the “crazy” on our roadways, then practice driving needs to become a priority in the scheme of things. Our recommendation to parents and students is 100 hours of practice and that doesn’t mean driving back and forth to school every day. It means practice in a variety of traffic situations over time. It is also not a good idea to take a newly permitted driver out onto a busy surface street to make a major left turn. The practice is graduated over time, as the student progresses, then the practice progresses.

We make two RECOMMENDATIONS:

• ALL of our parents take DrivingMBA’s Parent Class. The purpose of the class is to inform parents about the issues surrounding teenage driving and to provide them with information, tips and tools so that they can work with us in developing their teen into a safe and responsible young driver. The parent class is now mandatory for any student that will test with DrivingMBA and receive a waiver.
• Having students LOG their practice driving time. It is the ONLY way you can keep track of the hours actually spent practicing and will help you inform our instructors about what your student needs help with when they come in for their lessons.