Reducing the P plate risk
There is much you can do to manage the risks your new P plate
driver faces once they've obtained their P's.
Good preparation is the key. The more you can make driving on
L's be like driving on P's, the less dramatic - and therefore less
risky - the change to P's will be. As your learner driver gets
nearer to P's, gradually make driving more like the situations they
will experience when they drive on their own or with their friends
- the more typical it is of P plate driving, the better.
Here are some ideas for creating P plate situations:
| P plate reality |
Simulation ideas |
| Go when and where they'll go |
Ask them when and where they'll go and give it a go |
| Get distracted |
How do they respond to friends, phones ringing, MP3s, CDs,
food...? |
| Feel the pressure |
Ask what friends might say to them
and say it. What then happens? |
| Have fun, feel good |
What's their idea of fun? How do they manage the
situation? |
| Feel in a hurry |
Let them hurry if they feel the need. Can they see the
effect? |
| Feel annoyed or frustrated |
Let them react. Do they manage unhelpful thoughts and
feelings? |
| Be free |
Say “Grab the keys, I'll come too, but you pay for the
petrol!”
|
Stay involved
P-plater crash avoidance
tactics
