Young drivers

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Pontoneer
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Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2017 9:48 am

Young drivers

Postby Pontoneer » Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:25 am

I taught my daughter to drive from age 17 , augmented by some professional lessons , and she turned out well , now 31 with a good driving record and very competent to sit beside .

My son , now aged 9 , has become very interested in cars and driving , focussed as many youngsters are on motorsport and performance cars - at different times telling me that he wants to get a Dodge Charger/Bugatti Veyron/Ferrari/Lamborghini for his first car - despite My suggesting more modest vehicles to start with ... I still have seven years to adjust that expectation...

Anyway , I have taken him karting a couple of times , and he thoroughly enjoys it , and also seems quite safe in charge of the machine . I’ve also noticed that a local car club offers days when young drivers from age 14 can drive under adult supervision.

Just last week , I was behind a driving school car which advertised lessons from age 10 , which Harris will be this July , so I checked out the website and see they offer sessions on private ground with an ADI in a dual control car .

This strikes me as a very good idea - my main worry at present is that he would be able to both see over the dash and reach the pedals . I like the idea of him learning to drive and control a vehicle before going out on the road and contending with traffic and other road users .

Also I’d hope the novelty would have worn off by the time he is 17 and he would be a more mature driver . If he can do some track driving too , then hopefully he won’t feel any ‘need for speed’ on the public highways .

As long as the interest is there I’ll do my best to encourage it , and guide him in the right direction.

fungus
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Location: Dorset

Re: Young drivers

Postby fungus » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:55 am

This is similar to the Under 17 car club. I have had one pupil who went with them at the age of fifteen, and there was a marked difference in him and those who had not started early. IIAC Sean Cronin of the IAM did the same with his son. Sean is/was an inspector in Dorset Polices traffic devision, and was very keen on this. I would reccommend taking this route if at all possible. The down side is that you have to travel to the club meets which are held around the country.

http://under17-carclub.co.uk

Nigel.

Pontoneer
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Re: Young drivers

Postby Pontoneer » Sun Mar 18, 2018 10:03 am

Thanks , that’s interesting and now bookmarked . I’ll need to watch for something towards my part of the country .

The driving school car I spotted was onboard training , and their website below has a number of video links showing what they do - since they use the grounds of Hamilton racecourse, which is literally across the road from my place of work , it seems like a good place to start . Once he’s had a few goes in dual control cars with an instructor , if he copes well I’d then be happy to supervise him driving the little Polo I recently bought on private ground .

I’ve also noted that East Ayrshire Car Club , based at Kames circuit , have days when young drivers from age 14 are permitted , so this would seem a good progression . I need to check whether anything is available at Knockhill , which isn’t too far away either . I think supervised driving on a track , within his capabilities, would be good .

https://www.onboardtraining.co.uk/videos.htm

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akirk
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Re: Young drivers

Postby akirk » Sun Mar 18, 2018 5:00 pm

I have had youngsters driving my cars from early ages, first on lap, steering and then progressing as they can reach pedals etc. - usually in a friend's field, but also at private events... one of them even took a car around a track age 14 reaching speeds of 90+, remarkably safely... I also think though that you can do quite a bit of parallel teaching while they are passengers, esp. around observation, planning, etc... while the driving helps them learn car control, the other teaches them the driving craft, and if those two are then out together in the context of other drivers once they get to 17, they should have a great headstart...

Alasdair

fungus
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Re: Young drivers

Postby fungus » Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:02 pm

akirk wrote:I have had youngsters driving my cars from early ages, first on lap, steering and then progressing as they can reach pedals etc. - usually in a friend's field, but also at private events... one of them even took a car around a track age 14 reaching speeds of 90+, remarkably safely... I also think though that you can do quite a bit of parallel teaching while they are passengers, esp. around observation, planning, etc... while the driving helps them learn car control, the other teaches them the driving craft, and if those two are then out together in the context of other drivers once they get to 17, they should have a great headstart...

Alasdair


Getting them to notice hazards, road signs etc. and teaching them things like the meaning of traffic light colours etc. will help a lot. Also engaging them in discussion regarding other drivers behavior when appropriate will help to get them thinking. Sitting parked up at the side of the road and watching how other drivers deal with hazarsd, then discussing what could have been done differently if the outcome of a drivers actions were not ideal, will encourage them to think about possible outcomes.

Nigel.

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Mr Cholmondeley-Warner
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Re: Young drivers

Postby Mr Cholmondeley-Warner » Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:47 pm

The Under 17 Car Club is a worthy venture, but its claims should be taken with a pinch of salt. Having had first-hand experience of quite a few of their top-graded youngsters, they share a number of common features:

- their training is all off-road, so they have no roadcraft skills to speak of. Once on the public road they are starting from scratch like any other youngster. The vehicle handling skills are there, no question, but the rest has to be learnt. This is not aided by some of the Club's rather unorthodox teachings - e.g. signalling right at roundabouts to go straight on.
- they are indoctrinated to believe that they are "better" than the average 17 year old. Their instructors will proudly tell you that their Grade X (the top grade) is equivalent to an IAM pass. In my experience, it isn't. Unfortunately, particularly in the lads, this leads to a certain arrogance.
- Once over the age of 17 and let loose on the public road, it doesn't take long for them to forget their training and revert to type. Coupled with the previous point, this can actually make them harder to teach than "normal" newly passed teenagers.

Our RoSPA group had a number of them as associates, once they passed their DSA tests. None of them achieved higher than Silver, and a goodly proportion never took a test, because they were "too busy". In reality, they lost interest. I suspect maybe they found it a bit too much like hard work. I'm not saying that is unique to their group, perhaps it's just a teenage thing, but it was a noticeable trend, nonetheless.
Nick

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GTR1400MAN
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Re: Young drivers

Postby GTR1400MAN » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:05 pm

Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:This is not aided by some of the Club's rather unorthodox teachings - e.g. signalling right at roundabouts to go straight on.

Really? Just when we thought these people had all but died out.
:headbang:
Have you seen this written down somewhere, or are they misunderstanding what they have been taught/heard?
Mike Roberts - Now riding a Triumph Explorer XRT. My username comes from my 50K miles on a Kawasaki 1400GTR, after many years on Hondas of various shapes and styles. - https://tinyurl.com/mikerobertsonyoutube

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Mr Cholmondeley-Warner
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Re: Young drivers

Postby Mr Cholmondeley-Warner » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:56 pm

Haha, I have been in cars with them driving round Castle Combe circuit. Whenever I asked about this, I was told "that's how we're taught to do it". The instructors had some nonsense excuse about it being "to reduce uncertainty". I felt like you: :headbang: ... :roll: ... :headbang: ... :roll:
Nick

TheInsanity1234
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Re: Young drivers

Postby TheInsanity1234 » Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:06 pm

I did under 17 driving lessons when I was 16, and I can confidently say that those lessons are probably one of the bigger factors in my managing to reach 3 years accident free. Unfortunately, I successfully had an accident just two weeks or so after reaching the three year acccident free period, but we'll disregard that ;)
Bad habits aside, I am certain I would be a much worse driver if it wasn't for the under 17 lessons!

Did my lessons via the Admiral Young Driver scheme, and they're quite pricey (About £30 per hour I think) but certainly worth it for the skills I gained prior to being let loose on the roads.

Pontoneer
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Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2017 9:48 am

Re: Young drivers

Postby Pontoneer » Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:56 pm

akirk wrote:I have had youngsters driving my cars from early ages, first on lap, steering and then progressing as they can reach pedals etc. - usually in a friend's field, but also at private events... one of them even took a car around a track age 14 reaching speeds of 90+, remarkably safely... I also think though that you can do quite a bit of parallel teaching while they are passengers, esp. around observation, planning, etc... while the driving helps them learn car control, the other teaches them the driving craft, and if those two are then out together in the context of other drivers once they get to 17, they should have a great headstart...

Alasdair


We already do that quite a bit , as Harris can see everything going on around the car - at least when he isn’t playing on his iPad . Discussion on the meaning of road signs is a regular thing , along with the little voice piping up from the back seat should I ever stray above the speed limit - however marginally ; and now and then ‘look what that silly/naughty driver just did ... ‘ .

Going out cycling with him also , to a degree , teaches him some roadcraft ; although I suppose the same can be said of just going out as a pedestrian and having to deal with crossings etc .


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