5 Things Wichita Parents Should Practice With Their Teen Driver This Fall

Fall is a busy time for families in Wichita. School is back in session, sports and activities are in full swing, and many teens are spending more time behind the wheel.

If your teen is learning to drive or recently earned their license, fall is a great time to keep building their experience. You don’t need to plan a special driving trip every time you practice. Some of the best learning opportunities happen during everyday drives around Wichita.

Here are five things parents should practice with their teen this fall.

1. Driving During School Traffic

School traffic can be a completely different experience than driving during the summer.

Practice driving near your teen’s school during busier times so they can experience:

• More vehicles on the road
• School buses
• Students walking and biking
• Cars pulling in and out of parking lots
• Parents dropping off and picking up students
• Busy intersections

Talk about the importance of slowing down, watching for pedestrians, and staying patient when traffic isn’t moving as quickly as they’d like.

2. Driving After Dark

As the days get shorter, your teen may find themselves driving home from school, work, sports, or activities after sunset.

If your teen isn’t comfortable driving at night, start with shorter trips on familiar roads and gradually work up to more challenging situations.

Practice things like:

• Using headlights correctly
• Watching for pedestrians and cyclists
• Adjusting speed for visibility
• Dealing with glare from other vehicles
• Staying focused when visibility is limited

Night driving is a skill that takes experience, so don’t wait until your teen has to do it alone to practice.

3. Driving in Wichita Traffic

Wichita has a mix of quiet residential streets, busy intersections, highways, construction zones, and higher-speed roads.

Use your normal trips around town as an opportunity to practice different driving situations.

Let your teen take the wheel when you’re going to the grocery store, an activity, a restaurant, or somewhere else you’re already headed.

As they gain confidence, introduce more challenging routes.

The goal isn’t just to drive more miles. It’s to help them learn how to make good decisions in different situations.

4. Parking and Backing Up

Parking may seem simple to an experienced driver, but it can be one of the more stressful parts of driving for a new teen driver.

Fall is a great time to practice in different parking situations, including:

• Pulling into a parking space
• Backing out safely
• Parking between vehicles
• Parking in busy shopping centers
• Using mirrors and checking blind spots
• Parallel parking

Remind your teen that there’s no reason to rush when parking. Taking an extra moment to look around the vehicle can prevent an accident.

5. Driving With Distractions Around Them

Once school starts, teens may have friends riding with them more often. There may also be more notifications, texts, music, and other distractions competing for their attention.

Practice having conversations about distracted driving before your teen is regularly driving friends around.

Make the rule simple:

When you’re driving, your attention belongs on driving.

Put the phone away, keep passengers under control, and don’t let distractions become a habit.