While it is a great achievement to pass your Driving Test first time it is only the beginning of a life long process and does not confer immortality rights! So many young drivers are blissfully unaware of what is facing them in the first few years of Driving after passing the Driving Test.

This time is generally recognised as the most dangerous in a driver’s career since the euphoria of passing the Driving Test, whether first time or not, seems to completely blur the reality of driving in today’s environment. Today’s Driving Environment is very different to that of twenty five years ago or in Ireland’s case just ten years ago when roads were quieter and there were fewer untrained Learner Drivers on the road.

Today in 2006 not only do we have a huge increase in the number of vehicles on the road but an exponential increase of Learner Drivers who in the case of Ireland are cavorting merrily (and not so merrily!) around the countryside with little or no skills to back them up. A booming economy with plenty of jobs for everyone has placed cars within the reach of every 20 year old and some even younger drivers. Not for long, however, will this free for all continue, since the newly established Road Safety Authority has come out of the Kennel in the back yard and is beginning to bark. Bark it must do because the more noise that is made, the sooner the whole Motoring public will sit up and take notice.

What has the general motoring public got to do with Learner Drivers and their very obvious poor skills base you might ask? Since each generation of new drivers gets the first exposure to Driving and Road Sense in a Parent’s car, at a very early age, then it seems obvious that Parents can play a very key role in instilling good road safety skills.

Most Drivers are Parents or will be at some stage and so there is a strong link between the Driving Skills of Parents and those of their children. Setting a strong example from the first day a child is strapped into the car seat is an essential part of the long slow educational process. This will ensure that ultimately a new Driver goes out into the world with some good skills and an understanding of what is involved in owning and running a car.

In a nutshell Driver Education begins when we are in nappies and continues throughout life. The ability to pass the Driving Test first time is definitely influenced by the early years in your Parent’s car and the example they set for you. Bad driving habits and behaviour are easily noticed by young passengers and since the kids of today seldom go more than a few hours without being transported several times at least, they are constantly exposed to driver behaviour be it good or bad!

It may seem a bit of a chore to start training a child at such a young age but you can do it in stages and integrate the lessons to be learnt on a gradual basis. Keeping the car tidy is a good start and is no different to instilling a sense of pride in your nice tidy bedroom. As we all know keeping bedrooms tidy is tiresome but well worth it in the end. Passing the Driving Test First time can begin with your first time in the car but saving your life and that of another Driver can also begin at this time! Strange but True! Could it be worth the effort?