A Drivers License is Only the Beginning
New drivers spend months learning how to pass a test. The lessons that keep them safe for years, however, are often learned only after they begin driving alone. Parents can help close that gap by teaching not only the rules of the road, but also the practical habits experienced drivers use every day.
Every new driver should understand basic traffic laws, defensive driving, vehicle controls, tire care, warning lights, emergency procedures, and how to avoid distractions. They should also know how to respond to a flat tire, a breakdown, a crash, severe weather, or a missed turn without panicking or making the situation worse.
Key Takeaways
• Safe driving requires more than knowing how to steer, brake, and follow traffic signs.
• New drivers should learn their vehicle’s controls before they need them during an emergency.
• Phones, passengers, speeding, and inconsistent seat belt use are among the most important risks parents should address with teen drivers.
• Tire pressure, tread condition, warning lights, and emergency equipment should be checked regularly.
• A punctured tire should be inspected by a trained tire professional rather than automatically treated as a simple outside repair.
• Experienced drivers avoid turning small mistakes—such as missing an exit—into dangerous last-second decisions.
What Are the Most Important Rules for a New Driver?
Everyone Buckles Up Before the Vehicle Moves
The driver should require the use of a seat belt as a condition of riding in the vehicle. NHTSA describes buckling up as one of the safest choices drivers and passengers can make.
The Phone Is Put Away Before Driving
Distraction includes more than texting. It can include eating, changing music, entering directions, talking with passengers, applying makeup, and adjusting vehicle technology.
Teach new drivers to:
- Enter their destination before shifting into drive.
- Place the phone where it cannot be reached.
- Pull over safely before changing directions or answering a message.
- Let a passenger handle navigation when possible.
Passengers Can Change How a New Driver Behaves
Teen passengers may distract young drivers or encourage risk-taking. Parents should know their state’s graduated driver licensing restrictions and consider additional family rules where appropriate.
Speed Limits Are Maximums, Not Targets
Drivers should reduce speed when visibility, traffic, road conditions, construction, or weather make the posted speed unsafe.
What Should a New Driver Know About Their Vehicle?
Locate the Important Controls
The driver should be able to operate these without searching:
- Hazard warning lights
- Headlights and high beams
- Windshield wipers and washer fluid
- Front and rear defrosters
- Parking brake
- Hood and fuel-door releases
- Door locks and child locks
- Interior lights
- Cruise-control cancel button
- Emergency manual door release, when applicable
Adjust Vehicle Before Moving
Cover proper seat position, mirrors, steering-wheel position, climate settings, music, and navigation.
The goal is to avoid making preventable adjustments while the vehicle is moving.
Read the Owner’s Manual Before a Warning Appears
A new driver does not need to memorize the manual, but should know:
- Where it is stored
- How to search the digital version
- What fuel does the vehicle require
- Where the recommended tire pressure is listed
- Whether the vehicle has a spare tire, an inflator kit, or run-flat tires
- How to jump-start or tow the specific vehicle
- What the major warning lights mean
Know Where the VIN Is Located
Parents can show the new driver the VIN near the windshield or driver-side doorjamb and explain how it can be used to check for safety recalls. NHTSA provides recall searches by VIN, license plate, make, and model.
What Defensive-Driving Habits Do Experienced Drivers Use?
Leave Yourself Time and Space
Teach the new driver to maintain at least a three-second following distance under normal conditions and increase it when conditions are poor.
Look Beyond the Vehicle Directly Ahead
Drivers should scan several vehicles ahead for brake lights, merging traffic, pedestrians, construction, and changing signals.
Check an Intersection Even When the Light Turns Green
A green light gives permission to proceed (right of way), but it does not guarantee that cross traffic has stopped.
Pause long enough to confirm the intersection is clear.
Never Make a Dangerous Move to Avoid Missing a Turn
A seasoned-driver rule worth emphasizing:
Missing an exit costs a few minutes. A sudden lane change can cost much more.
Continue driving, reroute, and turn around safely.
Avoid Remaining Beside Another Vehicle
Do not drive for long periods in another vehicle’s blind spot, especially beside trucks, buses, or vehicles towing trailers.
Leave an Escape Route
When stopping behind another vehicle, leave enough room to maneuver around it when practical. Avoid becoming boxed in between vehicles.
Watch the Wheels of Nearby Vehicles
The direction of a vehicle’s front wheels can sometimes reveal that it is beginning to pull out or turn before the driver completes the maneuver.
Do Not Trust Technology More Than Your Own Observation
Backup cameras, blind-spot alerts, lane assistance, and automatic braking can help, but they do not replace mirrors, shoulder checks, and attention to the road.
What Should New Drivers Know About School-Zone and School-Bus Safety?
When school is back in session, the roads around schools, bus stops, and neighborhoods become busier and less predictable. New drivers should expect more pedestrians, bicycles, buses, and vehicles making frequent stops or sudden turns. Slowing down, increasing following distance, and actively scanning the entire area—not just the vehicle directly ahead—can give you more time to react when something unexpected happens.
Watch for Unpredictable Movement
School zones require drivers to pay attention to more than traffic. Children may enter a crosswalk unexpectedly, step out from between parked cars, or change direction without looking. Never assume a child sees your vehicle simply because you can see them.
Be especially alert for:
- Children entering or approaching crosswalks
- Parents stopping, turning, or pulling away suddenly
- Crossing guards directing traffic
- Bicycles and scooters entering or crossing the roadway
- Vehicles pulling away from curbs
- Car doors opening along pickup and drop-off areas
- Pedestrians appearing from between parked vehicles
- Reduced school-zone speed limits
A stopped vehicle near a school or crosswalk may also be yielding to someone you cannot see. Avoid immediately going around it until you understand why it has stopped.
Give Yourself Extra Time Around Pickup and Drop-Off
School arrival and dismissal can create unusual traffic patterns. Cars may double-park, make unexpected turns, stop suddenly, or pull away from the curb with little warning. Drivers may also be distracted while looking for children or navigating a crowded pickup line.
Stay patient, leave extra following distance, and don’t allow an impatient driver behind you to pressure you into speeding through a school zone.
Look Beyond the Road in Front of You
Good driving means learning to scan your surroundings. Near a school, the biggest hazard may not be the vehicle directly ahead. It could be a child approaching the curb, a bicycle coming from a sidewalk, a car door opening, or a school bus preparing to stop.
Pay attention to sidewalks, intersections, parked vehicles, driveways, and crosswalks as you move through the area. Larger SUVs and trucks can make it especially difficult to see children, so watch carefully for movement between and around parked vehicles.
Know When School-Zone Rules Are Active
School-zone speed limits may apply during specific posted hours, when warning lights are flashing, or under other conditions established by local law. New drivers should get in the habit of actively looking for signs rather than assuming the speed limit is the same every time they travel that road.
And this is one area where the phone should be completely out of the equation. Busy school zones require your full attention.
Understand School-Bus Lights
School buses add another important set of signals that every new driver should recognize.
Flashing yellow lights mean the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. Slow down, increase your following distance, and be prepared to stop.
When a school bus is stopped with red lights flashing and its stop arm extended, do not pass the bus. Passing a stopped school bus in this situation is illegal in every state. Remain stopped until the red lights stop flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn, and it is safe to proceed.
Children may be crossing the roadway even when they are not immediately visible, so never assume the absence of a visible child means it is safe to move.
Drivers approaching a school bus from the opposite direction should also know their state’s specific requirements. Laws can vary for divided highways and multi-lane roads, including when opposing traffic is required to stop. New drivers should learn the school-bus laws in every state where they regularly drive.
New-driver tip: Never assume a child sees you, and never assume you know what another driver, cyclist, or pedestrian is about to do. Around schools and school buses, slow down, stay alert, and expect the unexpected.
What Tire Basics Should Every New Driver Know?
Know the Correct Tire Pressure
The correct pressure is found on the vehicle placard—usually inside the driver’s door—or in the owner’s manual.
NHTSA recommends checking tire pressure regularly, including the spare, when the tires are cold. Tires should also be inspected for uneven wear, foreign objects, cracking, cuts, and other damage.
Know What Normal Tread Looks Like
Show the driver:
- The treadwear indicators
- What uneven wear looks like
- What a sidewall bulge or cut looks like
- Why an exposed cord or damaged sidewall requires immediate professional attention
NHTSA recommends checking tread when checking pressure and replacing tires once the tread is worn level with the built-in treadwear indicators.
Do Not Keep Driving on a Flat Tire
Continuing to drive can damage the tire internally and may turn a potentially repairable puncture into a tire that must be replaced.
The driver should slow down, avoid sudden steering or braking, and reach a safe location as soon as conditions permit.
A Plug Is Not Automatically a Proper Repair
A proper passenger-tire puncture repair requires the tire to be removed from the wheel so the inside can be inspected. Industry-recommended procedures call for filling the injury channel and sealing the innerliner; a plug alone or patch alone is not considered an acceptable repair.
New drivers should understand:
- Not every puncture is repairable.
- Shoulder and sidewall injuries generally fall outside the recommended repair area.
- Driving while severely underinflated can create hidden internal damage.
- A tire professional should inspect the entire tire before deciding whether it can safely return to service.
What Should a New Driver Do During a Breakdown?
Prioritize Location Over the Vehicle
When possible:
- Move away from active traffic.
- Turn on the hazard lights.
- Place the vehicle in park and apply the parking brake.
- Call roadside assistance, a parent, or emergency services as appropriate.
- Avoid standing between the vehicle and moving traffic.
Understand Move Over Laws
All 50 states have Move Over laws, although the vehicles covered and specific requirements vary. New drivers should slow down and change lanes when it is safe to give space to emergency personnel and roadside workers.
Do Not Attempt a Roadside Tire Change Everywhere
A driver may technically know how to change a tire but still be in a location where doing so is unsafe.
Heavy traffic, narrow shoulders, poor lighting, soft ground, hills, and severe weather are good reasons to call for professional assistance instead.
What Should New Drivers Keep in the Car?
Here’s our simple glovebox and emergency checklist.
Documents and information
- Driver’s license
- Vehicle registration
- Proof of insurance
- Roadside-assistance information
- Parent or emergency contacts
- Basic crash-information checklist
Emergency supplies
- Phone-charging cable or power bank
- Flashlight
- First-aid kit
- Reflective warning equipment
- Water
- Weather-appropriate clothing or blanket
- Jumper cables or approved jump pack
- Tire-pressure gauge
- Work gloves
- Paper towels
- Necessary medications
What Should a New Driver Do After a Crash?
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- Stop and remain calm.
- Call emergency services when someone may be injured or the location is dangerous.
- Move to a safe location when permitted and possible.
- Avoid arguing or admitting fault.
- Exchange required identification and insurance information.
- Photograph the vehicles, road, damage, signs, and surrounding area when safe.
- Contact a parent or trusted adult.
- Follow state reporting requirements.
FAQ:What Should Every New Driver Know?
What is the most important thing for a new driver to learn?
The most important lesson is to stay attentive and make predictable, controlled decisions. New drivers should avoid distractions, wear seat belts, obey speed limits, maintain safe distances, and never make a sudden maneuver because they missed a turn.
How often should a new driver check tire pressure?
Tire pressure should be checked at least monthly and before longer trips. Check the tires when they are cold and use the recommended pressure listed on the vehicle placard or in the owner’s manual. Include the spare tire when the vehicle has one.
Should a new driver know how to change a tire?
It is helpful to understand the equipment and process, but safety comes first. A driver should not attempt a tire change beside fast-moving traffic, on unstable ground, or in another unsafe location.
Can a new driver continue driving with a tire-pressure warning light?
The driver should reduce speed, avoid aggressive maneuvers, and stop somewhere safe to inspect the tires. A visibly low or damaged tire should not be driven on. The owner’s manual should be consulted for vehicle-specific instructions.
Can every nail hole in a tire be repaired?
No. Repairability depends on the location, size, angle, tire condition, previous repairs, and whether the tire was driven while underinflated. Industry guidance limits repairs to qualifying injuries in the tread area and requires the tire to be removed for internal inspection.
What should parents practice with a new driver?
Parents should practice driving at night, in rain, around construction, on highways, in parking lots, near school buses, and through unfamiliar areas. They should also review tire pressure, dashboard warnings, emergency equipment, breakdown procedures, and what to do after a crash.
Helping a new driver become safer takes more than handing over the keys. Teach them how to recognize tire damage, respond calmly to a flat, and ask the right questions when visiting a tire shop. When a tire is punctured, have it inspected by a trained tire professional who follows industry-recommended repair procedures. A proper repair can safely return a repairable tire to service while helping families avoid unnecessary tire replacement.
References
- NHTSA recommends checking tire pressure monthly, including the spare, and not relying on TPMS alone
- NHTSA identifies distraction, speeding, passengers and inconsistent seat belt use as major risks for teen drivers
- NHTSA reminds drivers to slow down around school buses and stop for red flashing lights and an extended stop arm as required by law