Key Driving Skills

Many customers who come to us for driving lessons want to learn to get from point A to point B.

They usually don’t tell us they want to learn something specific, such as how to use a turn signal or when to apply the brakes. We are the driving professionals so we have a thorough list of driving skills we cover to ensure all our student drivers who graduate from our driving course are confident that they can handle any situation they face on the road while they’re driving from point A to point B.

To help you understand what we teach our student drivers, here are some key driving skills we teach:

• Before starting the vehicle: Every driver needs to know where the car or truck’s turn signals, headlights, windshield wipers, and gear shift are.
• Control of the vehicle: New drivers have to be comfortable with how the car or truck they are driving handles. This means how it accelerates and brakes and how responsive the steering wheel is. Not only does this give the driver confidence behind the wheel, it makes other drivers around feel comfortable.
• Turning: Turns are essential to driving. Knowing when to signal, when to decelerate, how to recognize when it’s legal and safe to make a turn, and when to make a turn are all essential driving skills.
• Navigating intersections with stop signs: The concept is simple: stop at a stop sign. Learning when it’s ok to go again and whose turn it is at an intersection with one or more stop signs is key to giving drivers confidence.
• Use of mirrors: Finding and positioning your mirrors in your vehicle will allow you to see where your vehicle is in relation to other vehicles and to the road. Knowing where your blind spots are also gives drivers the ability to drive confidently.
• Signaling: Using turn signals is vital in communicating with everyone on and near the road. They let other drivers know you intend to turn or change lanes. Communicating is a big part of driving safely.
• Keeping a safe distance: The speed at which you are driving, along with road conditions and the road type, dictate what the safe distance is to keep from the car in front of you.
• Braking time: Speed also tells you how much time you will need to safely slow down before you need to come to a stop or make a controlled turn.

This is just a short list of some of the skills involved in everyday safe driving. Feel free to contact us to find out more about what we teach in our St. Louis driving lessons and if our private lessons are a good fit for you.