Let's Drive! workbook & practice guide - updated & expanded

Before your student gets behind the wheel, they need to understand and properly use foundational driving skills. Many of these skills can be learned in a parked car or while in the passenger seat. Plus, you need the proper tools.

1. Commentary Driving – learning to see what a driver must see (both in front and behind) in the context of operating a motor vehicle. 
2. Proper Driver Seat Positioning – Your student needs to be sitting properly in order to best see where and how they are driving.  
3. Proper Mirror Adjustment – Proper setting of the rear-view, driver-side, and passenger-side mirrors is critical for all drivers. 
4. 3-Point or Blind Spot Checks – this scanning skill is crucial when operating a motor vehicle!
5. Steering Wheel Management – Almost all novice driving students make similar mistakes of over-steering and under-steering turns, curves, and maneuvering around parking lots and spaces.
6. Pedal Control – Almost all new drivers struggle with learning the finesse of the gas and brake pedals.
7. Zones & Spots – Do you know and understand the difference between a blind spot and a blind zone?  

Once you and our student feel more confident about what is in front, behind, and to the sides, it's time to build on those basics by getting behind the wheel and on the road! Here are EIGHTEEN proven practice aids to get you going...

1. Getting on the Road with Your Student – Now that you’re ready to start some behind-the-wheel practice, here are some tips and guides on as to what to work on. 
2. Purposeful Practice – make your behind-the-wheel practice time purposeful by working on specific skills each time you go out.
3. Purposeful Practice Don’ts – and then there are things that should be avoided. Let’s teach and reinforce proper, safe driving habits for our students.
4. Visual Tracking – Is your student drifting left toward oncoming traffic or drifting right off the side of the road? Here's to getting them back on track!
5. Learning to Judge: Turns and Timing – Learning when it’s safe and appropriate to turn onto a street or main road takes practice and experience on the road.
6. Making Proper Left and Right Turns – It is imperative that our students know how to plan and execute proper left and right turns at multilane intersections.
7. Anticipating Ahead – the concept of anticipation can be challenging for many of our neurodivergent students, as they may be more linear than abstract thinkers.
8. The Importance of Signaling – It is important and necessary to use your vehicle’s turn signals ALL OF THE TIME!
9. The Importance of Lane Positioning – It’s more than just being positioned properly in the lane you’re driving in...
10. Backing Posture or Six-Point Check – Every driver should not rely solely on the vehicle's mirrors or technology when backing up. 
11. Road Sign Shapes – Certain Road Signs have specific shapes where they’re used in specific and often crucial situations and conditions. 
12. Road Sign Review – Does your student know and understand the various road signs that they will see and use during their travels?
13. Traffic Light Review – Is your student possibly not stopping at red lights or not going on green lights?
14. Road Marking Review – Does your student know and understand the road markings that they see on the roads?
15. Bumps, Humps & Tables – Does your student know and understand these special traffic controls that we all encounter on a regular basis?
16. Rumble Strips – Rumble Strips are used to control traffic placement and keep us safe.
17. Buses & Emergency Vehicles – Sharing the road with large passenger & emergency vehicles.
18. Changing Driving Conditions – Rain, snow, ice, and even falling leaves change our driving conditions.

These are the basic skills that all drivers need to master, not only to be licensed, but to successfully and safely travel and navigate our roadways and parking lots.

1. General Parking Lot Etiquette – Parking lots are busy places that we can’t take for granted.
2. Forward (Pull-in) Parking – Most drivers utilize forward or pull-in parking.
3. Reverse (Back-in) Parking – Many people attempt reverse or back-in parking, but they struggle with it and therefore have difficulty with this skill.
4. Special Notes for Reverse Parking – Not all students and vehicles are the same in size and/or visibility.
5. Parallel Parking – The “king” of parking maneuvers… sometimes is considered the most challenging or even terrifying for many people. Follow the technique and become a champion parker!
6. 3-Point (“K”) Turns – So what are you going to do if you’re driving down a street and you come across a fallen tree that has completely blocked the road?
7. Centering Corrections – You’ve backed into a parking space, but it’s a little “off”. Let's fix it!
8.  Exiting a Parking Space – Before you just pull out or back out of a parking space, STOP!
9. Parking Troubleshooting – Still having parking issues? Let’s break down the most common problems.
10. Mirror Placement – If your mirrors aren’t set properly, you’ll have a difficult time parking.
11. Finding Line “One” – If you’re still confused about the “line method” of reverse parking to the right, this information will certainly help you.
12. Driving a Vehicle in Reverse – Basic Maneuvers – Have you ever watched someone backing up a passenger vehicle and thought, “Oh, my goodness…”? Moving a vehicle in reverse is an important skill.
13. Understanding Rotaries & Roundabouts – Many drivers are terrified when they encounter a Rotary (also known as Roundabouts or Traffic Circles).
14. Shared or Center Left Turn Lanes – These are more recent innovations to aid the overall flow of traffic in so many suburban and commercial areas.

Many drivers are unfortunately intimidated by the highway. Trucks, higher speeds, and “crazy" drivers all contribute to this anxiety. Learning about the highway and how to navigate it safely and efficiently will make you a more efficient driver and increase your independence. Almost every student I've taken onto the highway, especially if it was their first time, has come to realize that it can be "easier" than driving through an urban area. Let's learn why.

1. General Information Regarding Highway Driving – Many students are “afraid” of driving on the highway for a variety of reasons, but that doesn’t mean they can’t overcome those fears.
2. General Definitions – Understanding various words, terms, and terminology.
3. Highway Interchanges – Learn the differences between Cloverleafs, Diamonds, Trumpets, and more. 
4. Entering the Highway – Understanding how to enter onto a “limited access highway” is obviously important.
5. What’s “the Point”? – This is not a rhetorical question!
6. Understanding “Weave” Lanes – One special type of entrance lane is the “weave” lane, where traffic is weaving on and off the highway.
7. Proper Lane Positioning – Does your student understand where they ought to be once they are on the highway?
8. Lane Changes & Passing on the Highway – Both maneuvers are often necessary on the highway. Executing them properly and safely is always a first priority. 
9. Exiting the Highway – Understanding how to exit from a “limited access highway” is as important as entering. 
10. Trucks and the Highway – Although tractor-trailer trucks are significantly larger than passenger vehicles, we share the road with them and shouldn’t fear them.