Page 39 - The Magazine of AAA Ohio Auto Club – January 2022

Kimberly Schwind is the senior public affairs director for AAA Ohio.
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experience before training with an instructor. When a student comes in with no experience, instructors can
tell the difference.
“They have very little or no self-
confidence, and most of them are terrified, to be honest,” said Kellie O’Riordan, traffic safety program manager and lead instructor at AAA Driver Education. “They struggle with accelerating and braking, and most of them don’t know how to put the car into the appropriate gear. That can make it a really scary experience for everybody, and we may not even get out of the parking lot. That’s not a good use of their time.”
Molly Metcalf
Metcalf said she noticed a difference in Molly’s driving as she gained experience through the combination of supervised driving and formal instruction.
“She got more confident,” said Metcalf. “She was staying more into the middle of the lane and wasn’t afraid of the cars coming toward her on the left-hand side.”
With her license, Molly drives to school and her grandparents’ house regularly. Yet, she does not like driving in the dark or rain – two of the most dangerous conditions for new teen drivers.
AAA’s How To Drive curriculum teaches that it takes about five years to become an average driver.
“We really want parents to continue practicing with their teens in every environment, even
after they get their license,” said O’Riordan. “And, make sure they adhere to state guidelines that protect them in the best way possible, so that they can develop into safe drivers.”
For information about AAA Driver Education, visit AAA.com/DriverEducation.
If parents are nervous, O’Riordan recommends starting with the basics.
“Show them the turn signals, show them the lights, show them the windshield wipers,” said O’Riordan. “Then focus on turns, stops and accelerating.”
To help parents and caregivers, AAA Driver Education holds parent orientation sessions, provides a parent packet to guide parents through the process and equips parents/guardians with a checklist after each drive outlining what their teen needs to practice.
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JANUARY 2022 | 37