Red Flag Bad Habits Your Young Driver Needs to Fix Now

All my friends and family suddenly seem to have teenagers coming home with driver’s licences. In recent months, I’ve been giving lessons to more new drivers than ever, and I’ve been catching them doing all sorts of seemingly innocent things that could be potentially dangerous.

If you’re the parent of a new driver or you’re about to be, now’s the time to identify and correct bad habits before they become permanent. This isn’t just a lecture about texting and driving, which they already know is terrible, but they do it anyway. This is stuff that they might not even know is wrong. 

As you begin teaching your young driver the ways of the road, consider using each of these in your own driving to set a positive example. You might have picked up some of these bad habits throughout the years, and you should lead by example, so it’s a good time to brush up on your techniques.

Red Flag #1: Hand Position

There is one way to hold your car's steering wheel properly: with your hands at the 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions.

There are only two exceptions: while shifting gears with a manual transmission and while making a turn so sharp that the driver’s hands must cross over one another.

Watch any professional racer in action, and you’ll see that their hands virtually never leave that 9 and 3 position, and neither should the hands of your young driver.

The family Camry isn’t a racecar, but the principle still applies: 9 and 3 hand positioning is vital for control when driving and ensures the driver can instantly steer in either direction with maximum urgency if needed.

If your teen driver is steering with one hand, placing both hands side by side on top of the wheel, or steering with a single finger, it slows down their maneuverability and reaction time.

If a driver is cut off by another car, faced with wildlife crossing the highway, or on course for impact with a piece of debris, incorrect hand placement prevents them from steering as quickly as possible, and when you’re driving, split seconds can be the difference between avoiding a crash or not.

Normalizing 9 and 3 positions at all times can save your life if you’ve got to make a split-second decision at the wheel, so don’t be shy with the reminders and corrections. Proper hand positioning can also prevent your young driver from learning the worst habit of all when it comes to steering a car, which is covered in the next section.

Red Flag #2: Hooking the Wheel

Drivers should never reach into the steering wheel and grab the rim from the inside to turn. This is called “hooking,” and it’s a dangerous habit.

Hooking drastically limits your ability to steer if there’s suddenly a need. If your teen driver is hooking, they have access to only a fraction of the vehicle’s steering functionality, which can make it difficult or even impossible to evade certain hazards.

But it could be even more dangerous.

Hooking is often used with tighter, low-speed turns like pulling into a parking lot or turning left on a green light. These low-speed driving scenarios are among the most common for distracted driving collisions, especially around intersections. If a vehicle is struck while your teen driver is hooking the wheel, the steering wheel could spin violently and the airbag could deploy with their arm caught inside the wheel, potentially causing major hand, arm, and wrist injuries. 

When your teen driver takes the wheel, watch constantly for hooking and treat even a small infraction as a major red flag. This is a dangerous habit that should be stopped in its tracks the moment you see it.

Red Flag #3: Your Teen is Afraid of the Brakes

I’ve met more than a few young drivers (older ones too) who are startled when the brakes are applied at more than a light, easy pressure. Sure, slamming on the brakes is unpleasant: it’s not very smooth, tires can squeal, and unsecured items can slide and spill around inside the car. 

I figure this is why I encounter so many drivers who shy away from applying sufficient pedal pressure until the last moments of a fast stop, preferring the lightest possible braking at all times (especially when keen to impress their more experienced passengers with the smoothest ride possible).

Be on the lookout for scenarios that require moderate to heavy braking, but aren’t emergencies.

Faced with this, drivers often tend to apply light braking at first (pre-heating the brakes), and then more braking later (when the brakes are hot) as they close in more rapidly on the offending vehicle or hazard. Brakes don’t work as well when they’re hot.

Not only does this approach chew up precious tarmac and reaction time, but it also means the vehicle’s brakes aren’t performing optimally. If your teen driver tends to slow down slowly at first and waits until the last second to really get pressing on that pedal, work to have them switch that around.

Don’t be shy with the brakes: when stopping quickly, encourage your driver to brake harder right up front, then ease off of the brake pedal once it’s safe to do so. They’ll have more reaction time, lower brake temperatures for improved performance, and a safer drive.

Every driving lesson should begin and end with a panic stop performed in a safe setting, like an empty parking lot. Have the driver get up to a good speed and then stomp on the brake pedal as fast and hard as possible so they aren’t scared when they need to slam on the brakes in a real scenario.

Red Flag #4: Watch the Eyes (and Nose!)

Parents can spot some red flag habits by paying attention to their new driver’s eyes (as well as the teen driver’s nose).

Watch your teen driver’s face intently and for awkwardly long periods while they drive. Your teenager will hate this, but it’s important.

Take note of where your teen is pointing their eyes. Eyes should be alert, up, and looking many car lengths ahead at all times or as far up the road as they can see if you’re on the highway. Their eyes should be scanning back and forth frequently, and also checking the side and rearview mirrors often.

If your teen’s eyes become fixated on the vehicle directly ahead, correct them by reminding them to look as far ahead as possible. Keeping the eyes up and away slows down the scenery speeding by, reduces stress levels, and provides much more reaction time to hazards up the road.

The nose can be a useful tool, too.

First, have your teen aim for a seating position where they’ll sit comfortably with their nose pointing out towards the horizon, not down towards the steering wheel or instrument cluster. The eyes follow the nose, so a nose that’s pointing forward and upwards tends to be accompanied by eyes that have an easier time doing the same.

Second, teach your driver to “steer with their nose.” That’s a great visual reminder to “look where they steer.” The driver’s nose and eyes should follow the rotation of the steering wheel at all times. Looking where you want to go is the safest driving technique.

Red Flag #5: Following Distance

Following too closely is one of the deadliest sins a driver can commit. If your teen driver is a tailgater, you’ve got a major red flag to deal with. If they aren’t, some careful guidance can keep the habit from forming.

When tailgating, the driver puts themselves at numerous disadvantages: reduced visibility and reaction times, and no ability to read the road ahead for potential hazards. When tailgating, the risk of being involved in a collision skyrockets, and it’s typically the tailgater’s fault.

At highway speeds, I glance at licence plates ahead of me. If I can read the text on any of them, it’s my clue to back off and leave more space. Especially at higher speeds, I never want to be close enough to another vehicle to be able to read its plate.

At lower speeds, this is overkill, but you can work with your teen driver to ensure they’re always leaving a gap of several car lengths at all times, even in slower traffic.