7 Common Reasons Your Teen May Fail Their Drivers Test
11 Aug 2018
It’s not easy for new and inexperienced teenage drivers. To obtain their drivers license, they need to learn about taking the proper precautions and measures to operate a vehicle safely and know all the rules of the road. They also need to try to settle their nerves come time for the DMV driving test.
Certain mistakes your teen makes during their drivers test can lead to an automatic fail and they’ll have to take the test over again. But, if they know the types of mistakes common for new drivers, it will reduce their likelihood of making mistakes that will cause them to fail their road test.
While there are many potential mistakes a teen driver can make during their test, these seven below are some common ones.
Mistake #1: Not Practicing
It’s not enough to just know the rules of the road and how to drive, your teen has to actually get out there and practice. Driving classes are available with instructors or they can simply drive around with you or another parent if they have their permit. Practicing will not only help them pass their road test, but it will also help them become a better driver.
Mistake #2. Lacking Confidence and Being Overly Nervous
Even if they’ve practiced driving and are adequately prepared, nerves and lack of confidence can impact their driving performance. Some ways stress and nerves can impact your test score negatively include:
- Failing to follow the test examiner’s directions
- Decreasing concentration and focus
- Losing control of your emotions
- Forgetting basic road rules
A part of showing the instructor you have vehicle control is by showing you’re confident. Braking too hard or driving too slow doesn’t just show your lack of confidence while driving, but it’s also unsafe driving behaviors. So, make sure you let your teen know this.
Mistake #3: Lacking General Road Knowledge
While certain knowledge comes with time and experience, your teen should at least know things like road signs, highway code and signals.
Mistake #4: Speeding
Regardless of how fast other drivers are driving, your teen needs to stick within the speed limit. They may need to lower their speed a little in special circumstances like work or school zones or changes in the weather. But, they should avoid driving too slow when it’s not indicated as this can cause unsafe conditions for them and the other drivers on the road.
Mistake #5: Not Checking Mirrors
Your teen needs to check their mirrors frequently. They need to be aware of other vehicles around them, even if they’re not changing lanes. While they might be wary of taking their eyes of the front of the road, they need to check the vehicles mirrors when called for.
Mistake #6: Making Rolling Stops
Failing to come to a complete stop will cost your teen a deduction on their road test. Although many drivers will simply slow down, your teen must stop completely at stop signs, making right-hand turns and other things like that to avoid another negative deduction on their test. Also, at red lights and stop signs, they must stop behind the demarcation line.
Mistake #7: Changing Lanes Inappropriately
This is another common mistake both new and experienced drivers make. To ensure they’re changing lanes properly, your teen must:
- Look first
- Use their turn signals to signal their intention
- Check their rear view and side mirrors for other vehicles
- Check their blind spots by looking over their shoulders
- Change lanes when safe to do so
- Shut their signal off
Along with these basic rules, your teen will also need to keep both hands on the wheel and maintain a safe following distance behind the cars in front of them. And remember, once your teen has their license, there are other things they still need to be aware of, including pedestrians, motorcycles and not texting while driving.
Once your teen becomes a licenced driver and is “flying solo” so to speak, using a GPS teen tracking device can help you as a parent feel comfortable with them being out on the road. It provides you with their location at all times, and you can establish geofence boundaries with alerts to let you know if they cross those geofences.
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