Time is your only ally. You teach as well as you can, but you wont be with him. The first day is horrible. They all believe they are ready but they lack experience and time on the road. You just hope they will be OK. Schools will serve the legal part but the rest just takes time.
I worry more about my wifes driving.
A lot of kids (and adults) do get in accidents. Most accidents are minor, some are not. The big thing is to be sure they’re safe, if you ever catch them not wearing their seat belt, suspend driving for a week, a month, or whatever.
Teach him to assume that other drivers will do the stupidest thing possible, like look right at them and then pull out in front of them. Always have a plan for whatever is happening, whether that plan is braking, swerving, or speeding up.
No cell phones or especially texting while driving. The fewer friends riding with him the better. Definitely don’t want 2 or 3 at a time.
My parents got 7 of 8 kids to driving age. The line was the same as long as I can remember. “We are afraid that we may well outlive at least one of you kids because of cars and driving. Please prove us wrong.” So far we have, Dad passed in 94 and Mom is almost 89 and we took her car away from her… he he he
Dad taught the first 4 kids and then Drivers ed helped with the other three because all the other kids got to do it. Not that they needed it…
By age 15-16, we had to be able to back a small boat on it’s trailer down the launch ramp. And reverse the procedure. Get it back to the lake house and backed into it’s place. Drive which ever tractor he had at the time of your desire to join the ranks. And a few other things that he considered important. For darn sure you would be able to drive a stick.
We all were able to drive, paddle, sail a boat and able to start a 10 HP outboard at least. The girls were exempt from the 35 HP pull rope monsters of the day… The touchy big Merc’s didn’t count as the men had to fight them too. LOL
Also, what everyone else has already said.
Some people even pray a little bit…
Good luck and may your fears always be unfruitful…
Sounds like mine. She gets her license next Friday (supposedly).
I can see it now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGnR2iL4H2M
When my oldest son was 16 I was pregnant, so I made his father teach him the fundamentals. (For some reason I got very, very paranoid about anyone else’s driving, but my husband is a very, very good driver.) I did not get in the car with him until he was about ready to go for his final test, and what I found out was: When you’re riding with your kid for the first time, you don’t really need to dress all that warmly, even if it’s winter. Yes, I am the sort that gets hot when nervous.
I found out that while his father is a great driver, he missed a few things in the teaching process. Like the one about how you don’t need to be on the gas right up until the moment when you need to brake.
The next one got driver’s ed at school, which worked out much better.
Hey man, it’s not as easy as it looks!
I’ve taught 3 of my kids to drive, and I am working on my fourth. Here in Colorado, if you want them to get their permit at 15, you have to enroll them in a professional driver’s training program. (We use Master Drive.)
I say I taught my kids, because the first three kids all requested that mom not do it. She was too nervous; she’s right there with you on the driving anxiety. Despite the fact that my role includes being “The One That Yells At The Kids”, I am a much calmer instructor than my wife and have rarely yelled in the car. (I think each kid gets one "stop stop! STOP! STOP!!! while running a stop sign, right on red with pedestrians present.) If you are that stressed, I would recommend not instructing him. Let the yelling ex, or designate an adult you trust who has the time, or pay someone. (It seems to me that senior citizens could naturally fulfill this need. Many of them need a driver, fewer are high stress types 'cause many of those ones died, etc.) Kids definitely pick up driving personalities from their parents. One of mine has no confidence driving, her twin sister drives like a grandma never speeding (they take after mom), and one can’t understand what all the stress is about. If you are an anxious driver, he might become one also, and you might drop more than a peg or two in his eyes when you most need him not to. My kids know that when mom says “be careful”, it means “goodbye”. When I say “be careful” it means the driving conditions are hazardous, so they’d better be careful.
To be honest, I trust the kids more driving than I do my wife: they see better, have better reflexes, and they pay more attention. I did buy them a used Suburu Outback, so they’d have some steel around them, but none have needed it so far.