The “supervisors” here refer to parents, spouses, ex, uncles/aunts, neighbours, siblings and friends etc that are supervising new drivers.
I get asked this question quite a bit from loving parents so I think I better write them down for future references.
First thing to supervise is to learn. The fact is that “parents” usually get their license a quite a while ago, in average 20 years ago, the requirements are quite different now although the driving basics are the same. There are a couple of way to learn: 1) RTA used to host a free seminars for parents so if its still on book your seat; 2) read this little booklet : Guide to driving test 3) talk to a qualified instructor.
Second thing is to choose the location carefully. To supervise new drivers can be challenging, and sometimes even dangerous. So please try to plan the driving ahead, think about if the new driver can really handle the situation you throw on them.
The third thing is, do NOT compare a new driver with you — a driver with 20+ years experience. Many of us tend to forget how dump we were when learning. Please accept that the new drivers can make mistakes (we still make some anyway), and if it happens, stay calm, try not to shout, unless its really dangerous. If you plan your “lesson” before hand, the highly dangerous situation should be eliminated. What you focus on is to avoid big mistakes, and don’t worry about they push too deep, break too hard, steer too much etc as long as you are safe, coz the driving will become smoother with more hours down the track.
The fourth thing is, after the initial stage of learning and the ‘new’ driver can drive quite comfortably, step back a bit so they can grow, eventually they are going to drive alone, they need to get used to it early. Try to create a more real environment for future under your supervision, e.g. driving in music, let them plan the route etc.
The last but not least, do not over turn what the instructor has taught (what you have paid for). For example we teach not to speed but a couple of parents think not to worry, then the worry might come when attempting test.
Happy supervising!
